The "I sometimes break a sweat" thread

[Drunkard]

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.

 

I've done with push ups. I used to just crank them out until I got tired but someone told me to do them as slow as possible to really feel the burn. Instead of doing 20 or 30 I think I did 4 or 5 really slowly and it felt like the muscles in my shoulders got way more work out that way.

[Doohickie]

These posts are great, and inspiring.

Thanks. Sometimes I think it just comes across as me bragging (and maybe that's exactly what it is) but I like to think some people enjoy seeing some different scenery and different bikes.

 

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

I hate that question. I know what works for me but I'm pretty far out there as far as preferences.  I'm not sure there are too many people out there like me. 

 

One thing I would offer is try out as many bikes as you can at a bike shop.  See what style "feels right" to you.  When you're older (I'm 53), fit and adjustment become more important, so if you can find a bike shop with a lot of stock on the floor and they have a concept of how to fit a rider, that's the best thing.  If you haven't been in a bike shop lately, the technology is way, way, way further than you might imagine- indexed shifting, even electric shifting, disk brakes, all kinds of weird stuff you never used to see.  That said, I'm pretty happy with simpler technology; I have 5 bikes which are 7, 22, 33, 33 and 50 years old, respectively.  If you're interested in something vintage, I would suggest looking at the period from about 1987 to 1990 which is kind of a golden age of bikes.  Indexed shifting was just coming into its own, and other than that all the older technology was pretty much perfected/maxed out.

 

A good starting point if you're looking at a newer bike is a hybrid (cross between a road bike and a mountain bike).  They tend to have straight handlebars, low-ish mountain bike style gears to help you climb, but smoother tires than a mountain bike so you can ride them pretty fast over long distances.  If you go with a mountain bike or cruiser, you may be disappointed with your speed.  You can try a road bike and it may be great, but I just think if you're jumping in, a hybrid is a good compromise.  Even if you "outgrow" it and go for a road bike later on, a hybrid makes a good backup bike.

 

For the older butt.... I recommend a Brooks leather saddle.  They are pricey (~$100) which seems like a lot, but I can ride my bikes with the fancy bike shorts or blue jeans and I'm comfortable either way, even for up to 40-50-60 miles.  I've gotten Brooks saddles off Craigslist and at bicycle swap meets for less than that (as little as $25), but that's just a matter of luck.  The point of a Brooks is that although it feels hard, it essentially acts like a hammock for your butt and forms to your contours.  After break-in, they are almost a part of you.

 

If you want a wide variety of advice, register over at BikeForums.net and ask over there.  They have specific forums for all kinds of bikes and biking, including an Over-50 forum and a "Clydesdales and Athenas" forum (for people over 200 lb.) with people that can answer any question you can think of.

I know a guy in the Buffalo area that rides with the Niagara Frontier Bicycle Club and he's lost over a hundred pounds riding his bike.

[Cereal]

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.

ADVICE: I had surgery on a torn labrum (shoulder) in '08... Do NOT stop doing the exercises your physical therapist has prescribed for you.  I stopped for a six months, my shoulder started getting bad again, and I went back to PT... Now I MUST do them once/week... My shoulder is always at 90% but will never be 100%... This is for ultimate frisbee by the way.

 

Thanks. Sometimes I think it just comes across as me bragging (and maybe that's exactly what it is) but I like to think some people enjoy seeing some different scenery and different bikes.

Well, it does kinda come across as you bragging :P BUT, I'll say I really enjoy the posts too!  PLUS it seems to be working for you (the weight-loss), PLUS this seems like an appropriate place to post all those.

 

Also it makes me miss when I lived in Austin; I'd try to bike everywhere and it was glorious :wub:

[jsb]

Thanks. Sometimes I think it just comes across as me bragging (and maybe that's exactly what it is) but I like to think some people enjoy seeing some different scenery and different bikes.

 

Actually having met you, I'm impressed with your antics :P. What I can't get my mind to comprehend is the little to no traffic that your pics infer. I haven't been to FW-Dallas that often but when I have I run into the same traffic jams that I see in Houston.

 

Do you ride at 3am?? I'm at work at 5am and I still see more traffic than your pics show. Are the other riders friends or family or did you join a club?? I use the Nike running APP to watch my progress and I've totaled 250 miles since Christmas but I'm worried what it may be doing to my joints, is cycling any easier on them. And yes I have 10 years on you. 

[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.

Just did this for my workout. 30 minutes and I am 'swole' as the bro would say. I think you've changed my life. :lol:

[Doohickie]

Actually having met you, I'm impressed with your antics :P.

What are you inferring, sir?  (That I'm a lard-ass?)  :o

 

What I can't get my mind to comprehend is the little to no traffic that your pics infer. I haven't been to FW-Dallas that often but when I have I run into the same traffic jams that I see in Houston.

 

Do you ride at 3am?? I'm at work at 5am and I still see more traffic than your pics show. Are the other riders friends or family or did you join a club?? I use the Nike running APP to watch my progress and I've totaled 250 miles since Christmas but I'm worried what it may be doing to my joints, is cycling any easier on them. And yes I have 10 years on you.

 

The west side of Fort Worth has very little traffic for a city of almost a million people.  Right at the height of rush hour there's traffic, and around the malls at Christmas time there's traffic, but there's a lot of "bedroom community" suburban sprawl and once people get home after dinner the streets are largely deserted.  Also bear in mind that there are streets that *do* have a lot of traffic but I stay away from them to the greatest extent possible.

 

Dallas has more of that all-the-time traffic that you're thinking of.  Fort Worth is a really great place to live because we have all the conveniences of big cities (Cowboys an Rangers are in Arlington, the next town over, and Mavs & Stars are in Dallas), we have a nice downtown, but we don't have that huge overcrowding you see in cities this size for some reason.  In terms of traffic/gridlock, Fort Worth is on a par with Buffalo I would say.

 

If you decide to try riding, check out HTX BIKE SOCIAL. They're kind of like the Night Riders group that I ride with.

Also it makes me miss when I lived in Austin; I'd try to bike everywhere and it was glorious :wub:

 

Austin is hillier than Fort Worth.  It seems like Austin is always "to the river" (down hill) and "away from the river" (up hill) all the time.  There is a bluff along the river in Fort Worth, but except for that bluff there are a lot of pretty flat areas.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Robin Egg

[JJFIVEOH]

I did a nice 34 mile ride from Dania Beach down to North Miami Beach via A1A and the numerous boardwalks along the way. I wanted to get down to South Beach but it was getting late. Next time, last boardwalk to hit is the Miami Beach Boardwalk.

 

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/8344528

 

http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=8764243

 

Dania Beach

 

 

Hollywood Beach boardwalk

 

 

Hollywood Beach heading towards Golden Beach on A1A. 

 

I have more coming.................. I can't post too many pictures and a separate post just merges with the last one. 

[JJFIVEOH]

Bal Harbor

 

 

Atlantic Way, parallels the beach (directly on the other side)

 

 

Cats, lots and lots of wild cats.

 

 

And then back to Dania Beach. This is from the pier looking south. 

 

[BarDown]

Just did this for my workout. 30 minutes and I am 'swole' as the bro would say. I think you've changed my life. :lol:

Glad I could help!!

[Doohickie]

And then back to Dania Beach. This is from the pier looking south. 

 

 

Very cool.  Looks like a beautiful (and very expensive!) area.  Looks like there great trails along the beach.  12 mph - is that on your mountain bike?  That's a pretty good clip.

 

I didn't ride Wednesday night.  This followed me home, and brought crazy rain, lightning and 70 mph winds.

 

 

I put in a quick 14 miles after the game Thursday.  Just a big loop on some good roads.

 

Edited April 1, 2016 by Robin Egg

[JJFIVEOH]

Very cool.  Looks like a beautiful (and very expensive!) area.  Looks like there great trails along the beach.  12 mph - is that on your mountain bike?  That's a pretty good clip.

 

I didn't ride Wednesday night.  This followed me home, and brought crazy rain, lightning and 70 mph winds.

 

 

I put in a quick 14 miles after the game Thursday.  Just a big loop on some good roads.

 

 

Yeah it's gotten really expensive along the coast. Some areas you can get small (I mean really small) condo units in high rises in the 200K range. Outside of that you'd better be MAKING 200K/yr to afford anything else. Golden Beach I mentioned, that's some high $$ stuff, I think the median house value is 950K. MEDIAN! I was looking around out of curiosity and came across a small lot 2 blocks from the beach going for $2.4 mil.

 

I'm trying something new similar to what you did. On top of my usual biking, running and gym stuff, 2-3 times a week I'm doing four short laps around the neighborhood  (approx 10 miles) right before bed to see if it does anything as far as losing weight. My theory is, if a body is slowing down for the night, after a big dinner and maybe dessert, a late night fast paced exercise might kick start the metabolism where it would otherwise just digest and store fat.

[Doohickie]

Yeah it's gotten really expensive along the coast. Some areas you can get small (I mean really small) condo units in high rises in the 200K range. Outside of that you'd better be MAKING 200K/yr to afford anything else. Golden Beach I mentioned, that's some high $$ stuff, I think the median house value is 950K. MEDIAN! I was looking around out of curiosity and came across a small lot 2 blocks from the beach going for $2.4 mil.

Kind of funny considering these places will be under water in a few years...

 

I'm trying something new similar to what you did. On top of my usual biking, running and gym stuff, 2-3 times a week I'm doing four short laps around the neighborhood  (approx 10 miles) right before bed to see if it does anything as far as losing weight. My theory is, if a body is slowing down for the night, after a big dinner and maybe dessert, a late night fast paced exercise might kick start the metabolism where it would otherwise just digest and store fat.

It should work fine, as long as you are eating the right amount of calories. Just riding doesn't do it (I know, I've been riding for years). The riding will help your aerobic health, but unless you ride in conjunction with limiting calories, you won't lose weight.  That's why I use a tracker.

 

Speaking of which, I just hit the 30 lb. lost mark.

[jsb]

Speaking of which, I just hit the 30 lb. lost mark.

Dang, you're just wasting away!!!!! Nice job

[Doohickie]

Had my physical yesterday. Dr was impressed. BP was 112/74.

[TrueBlueGED]

ADVICE: I had surgery on a torn labrum (shoulder) in '08... Do NOT stop doing the exercises your physical therapist has prescribed for you.  I stopped for a six months, my shoulder started getting bad again, and I went back to PT... Now I MUST do them once/week... My shoulder is always at 90% but will never be 100%... This is for ultimate frisbee by the way.

 

 

Heh, thanks for the tip--the labrum is what I had surgery on; posterior and superior tears. Once a week on the exercises doesn't seem too terrible. I have a pretty large set of exercises to do twice a day and it takes nearly 2 hours, so I'm really hoping I don't have to continue to do them that often after I graduate, which my therapist said will be at the end of April. I will gladly accept any other tips you have :)

[Cereal]

Heh, thanks for the tip--the labrum is what I had surgery on; posterior and superior tears. Once a week on the exercises doesn't seem too terrible. I have a pretty large set of exercises to do twice a day and it takes nearly 2 hours, so I'm really hoping I don't have to continue to do them that often after I graduate, which my therapist said will be at the end of April. I will gladly accept any other tips you have :)

Yeah that huge list of exercises twice/day is grueling, huh?  It sucks, but think about the long-term.  You went through all the effort to get the surgery and all that.  Listen to the physical therapist and do it right.  Otherwise you may end up (like me) always being at 90%, never getting back to 100%.

 

By the way, I cannot throw a football or baseball for the life of me now.  I haven't even tried picking tennis back up :(  I attribute it to rushing back into things after surgery + stopping the exercises.  Hopefully I am scaring you into staying consistent with the strengthening exercises :thumbsup:

[JJFIVEOH]

 

 

Speaking of which, I just hit the 30 lb. lost mark.

 

Nice, and it's not even summer yet!

[Eleven]

$200 - $300 at most. 

 

BPD does its annual auction in June.  Also check for used bikes at bike shops--I know Rick Cycle Shop downtown has them.  There's no reason to buy new and you can get a very nice used one in that range.

 

Agree w/ JJ that a hybrid is your best bet.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Eleven

[darksabre]

BPD does its annual auction in June.  Also check for used bikes at bike shops--I know Rick Cycle Shop downtown has them.  There's no reason to buy new and you can get a very nice used one in that range.

 

Agree w/ JJ that a hybrid is your best bet.

Definitely check out Rick Cycle Shop. 

[Doohickie]

Double duty today.

 

I did the morning Breakfast Ride for 25 miles,

 

 

Then I took the dogs to Trinity Park and we walked over 4 miles.  OMG, ducks!

 

OMG, geese!

[TrueBlueGED]

Yeah that huge list of exercises twice/day is grueling, huh?  It sucks, but think about the long-term.  You went through all the effort to get the surgery and all that.  Listen to the physical therapist and do it right.  Otherwise you may end up (like me) always being at 90%, never getting back to 100%.

 

By the way, I cannot throw a football or baseball for the life of me now.  I haven't even tried picking tennis back up :(  I attribute it to rushing back into things after surgery + stopping the exercises.  Hopefully I am scaring you into staying consistent with the strengthening exercises :thumbsup:

 

Well done, I'm terrified. I'll be doing these things till I'm 70 :lol:

[Sabel79]

Just played my first soccer game of spring-summer season. Playing on a new-ish team, half the guys have played together half not. Went about as well as you'd expect. Things got better in the second half once we learned everyone's names.

 

90 minutes at left back and I realize I should probably have been running a bit more (or indeed at all) this winter. To quote Danny Glover in Lethal weapon: "I'm too old for this..." Well, you know the end. Still, feels great to be back out there, no matter how badly I'm doing it.

[Doohickie]

Sunday was the Spring Tweed Ride here in Fort Worth.  I rode 32.5 miles on a 50-year-old, 50-pound bike. 

 

I'm the freakishly tall guy, standing next to my bike

 

And then tonight I got in a pretty quick 27 miles (about 15 mph average which is good for me over that distance).

 

Tonight's steed:

 

And the reward for putting in the miles

[LGR4GM]

I like the pics. Looks like a fun ride. I really want to get a bike and start riding again, I miss it.

[SwampD]

Sunday was the Spring Tweed Ride here in Fort Worth.  I rode 32.5 miles on a 50-year-old, 50-pound bike. 

 

I'm the freakishly tall guy, standing next to my bike

 

And then tonight I got in a pretty quick 27 miles (about 15 mph average which is good for me over that distance).

 

Tonight's steed:

 

And the reward for putting in the miles

Every time I see these picks, I think about how much I'm not riding my bike and should be.

 

On a positive note, I decided to start losing weight last July (mostly just portion control and switching from beer to vodka+seltzers). Once I realized that I was doing it, I set my goal weight at 204 (that's what I weighed in at for football my freshman year at UB, almost 30 years ago).

 

This morning I hit my goal for the first time and I'm closing in on having lost 40 lbs. It feels really good.

 

:beer:  

 

 

 

(that's vodka+seltzer in that emogi)