The Fitness thread

Legs first I think. I reckon I could keep going otherwise.
 
I've already started training legs on leg day. Squats, leg press, leg curls, and calf raises both on seated machine and leg press machine. Still only about a month into it I reckon so still developing.

Should I do it on a separate day or on leg day?
 
omens said:
If I look back at when i was first running, I would have been too out of breath even to think. Now I'd say i could have a reasonable chat. I recover really quickly. So looking at my progress over six months, it's been remarkable.

I just need to improve stamina. After my last failure at a continuous run, I had planned 2x8 min runs. Got to 8 mins and thought "keep going". I was gonna aim for 10 mins. Got to 9, and just couldn't carry on. So had to reduce to a walk. Once recovered after 5 mins, I restarted but could only cope for 6 mins.

Am gonna try just 2x8 mins next and see how things go.
Click to expand...

It won't do any harm to repeat a step.

For info, my running pattern at the minute is 3/4 a week. A short quick run, a slightly longer paced tempo run (slower than the short quick run), and finally a long slow run. I'm not bothered about improving my pace at the minute (I don't race) so I rarely do intervals, more usually a very short and easy recovery run after three long run.

The long slow run (6 to 10 miles) is anything between 45s and 1 minute slower than the fast run. However it is the slow run than builds your stamina and gets you used to time on your feet. Everything should be nice and comfortable.

At the point you are now, slow is your friend. Once you have the stamina, you can build the pace. But your muscles and cardio must get there first.

If you are running on a treadmill I would encourage you to get outside too. You will find it easier, you'll learn to regulate your own pace better and it is just much more motivating.
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
If you are running on a treadmill I would encourage you to get outside too. You will find it easier, you'll learn to regulate your own pace better and it is just much more motivating.
Click to expand...

This! I always assumed I was not a runner. I have never been able to run, was terrible at it.

Then my partner suggested I go for a run outside. The first time I ran outside I did 3.5km. The second time I did 5km. I wasn't fit and hadn't been doing any other training. On a treadmill with many attempts, my previous best was just over 1km.

Trainers make a huge difference too. I used to run in Nike trainers that I had fitted by the Nike team while I was working as a personal trainer. Then for my first run outside I switched to barefoot running. Now I train in Inov-8 minimalist trainers with no drop from heel to toe and I get no pain any more.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
omens said:
I've already started training legs on leg day. Squats, leg press, leg curls, and calf raises both on seated machine and leg press machine. Still only about a month into it I reckon so still developing.

Should I do it on a separate day or on leg day?
Click to expand...
If legs are fatiguing then you would benefit from training your 'endurance' muscles.

By doing many reps, the 'engine' of your 'endurance' muscle will increase in size and numbersso the amount of oxygen they can hold before exhausting is improved.

You'll be fine to do that every time.
 
Cool I'll work it into my routine after squats and deadlifts. Completely understand about training slow twitch muscle fibres.
 
omens said:
I've already started training legs on leg day. Squats, leg press, leg curls, and calf raises both on seated machine and leg press machine. Still only about a month into it I reckon so still developing.

Should I do it on a separate day or on leg day?
Click to expand...
No leg raises? I invariably always do these before squats, deadlifts of leg press. It could help save your knees at a later date. I had slightly dodgy knees from playing five-a-side football. After, I could just be walking along and my knees would somehow flip and almost give way sending me into a heap on the floor. Since doing leg raises I no longer get any trouble from my knees I can go reasonably heavy on the squats etc., with no need for knee wraps or support bandages.
 
Leg raises used to give me knee probs in the past so I've avoided them. I start with squats first so I don't knacker out too early. I normally follow squats with dead lifts.
 
Finally some nice weather so i'm off out for a walk. Not major exercise but will be pushing pram with heavy toddler in it while carrying a baby strapped to chest. I'm not sure how far i'll get before one of them kicks off.

I'm trying to tone up legs and tum. I'm waiting on a sit up rocker coming tomorrow as I struggle with sit ups. We also have a water rower than i'm gradually building up the time on.
 
Day 4. The day P90X3 got hard.

It's called "The Challenge" and the idea is simple enough: you do pullups then pushups. 4 different styles, 2 sets of each (e.g. wide pullups, regular pushups, wide pullups, regular pushups, chinups, military pushups etc). The fiendish trick is you pick a number for pullups and one for pushups and stick with it for the whole session. So if you think about it, the first set should be very easy.

I didn't think about it for that long but thought it would be fun to keep up with one of the backing dancers (who bears a striking resemblance to Don Draper). 8 sets plus burnout. 105 pullups and 219 pushups in 26 minutes.

I feel ill.
 
I bet your new shoes will be fine. Not falling over is probably the key.

It was like a month you couldn't walk for, right?
 
When I first started kickboxing about 2 years ago I was so nervous of a sprain (had 2 bad ones each ankle) but I haven't had any problems despite doing all kinds of crazy jumping kicks and landing on soft mats whilst turning etc...

Bottom line is, I'm confident my joints are much more stable now :)
 
Phil Young said:
If you're ever anxious about it, just wear a support and it'll be good as gold :)
Click to expand...

I'd have to disagree with this, 'supports' can be terrible for injuries in many, many cases. Wear them when they're prescribed by physios. If you have a situation where you *think* you need a support, go see a physio and fix the problem instead. Yes, it's more expensive in the long run, however what price can you put on your health?

Supports can often, in the long term, lead to weak and imbalanced muscles and psychological reliance. Fix the problem rather than covering it with a bandage.
 
CharlotteM said:
I'd have to disagree with this, 'supports' can be terrible for injuries in many, many cases. Wear them when they're prescribed by physios. If you have a situation where you *think* you need a support, go see a physio and fix the problem instead. Yes, it's more expensive in the long run, however what price can you put on your health?

Supports can often, in the long term, lead to weak and imbalanced muscles and psychological reliance. Fix the problem rather than covering it with a bandage.
Click to expand...
Charlotte, a lax ligament will not support a joint as well before it was injured. Sometimes, depending on the severity, it might not get stronger.

Jake had a grade 2 sprain which means quite a bit of ligament tear.

His ankle at thw moment is at quite a high risk of turning again due to the joint being compromised and hwnce a support would brace it for any movements that would otherwise be more risky.

It's just a way of getting back into your sport and giving yourself that piece of mind you you'll be ok - it's not a long term solution.
 
Phil Young said:
If you're ever anxious about it, just wear a support and it'll be good as gold :)

Trainers look good for most fitness applications.
Click to expand...

Just a word on trainers. If you intend to do any running in them please go and get your gait assessed at a reputably running shop and the get the right shoe for you, otherwise you are looking at knee trouble at the very least. The first aspect is getting the support and motion control that you need (if any) and the second aspect is that they all fit just a little bit differently (and our feet are unique) so what is lovely and comfy on one person may pinch and rub on someone else. Having a sock full of blisters is never a pleasant experience.

I admire Charlotte's ability to bear foot run but I suspect (from her profile pic) she is both relatively young and light (just looked at her previous post - 50kg!). For us older (and heavier) farts, a bit more care must be taken. Especially if the exercise involves repetitive impact. My feet bio-mechanics have learnt a lot of bad habits over the years from ill-advised footwear and I suspect that if I tried running my 92kg bear-foot then it wouldn't be long before I was in a world of pain.
 
Chris is right, if doing a lot of running is your game, analysis is a very good idea.

@ChrisJ_SLH - actually, from a biomechanics and injury prevention point of view, every runner should really run in both a barefoot shoe & a heel striking shoe - not one exclusively. Take a look at something I wrote a while back on the subject, see what you think...

http://www.philyoungpt.co.uk/#!if-you-run-you-should-read/c1jbd
 
Phil Young said:
Chris is right, if doing a lot of running is your game, analysis is a very good idea.

@ChrisJ_SLH - actually, from a biomechanics and injury prevention point of view, every runner should really run in both a barefoot shoe & a heel striking shoe - not one exclusively. Take a look at something I wrote a while back on the subject, see what you think...

http://www.philyoungpt.co.uk/#!if-you-run-you-should-read/c1jbd
Click to expand...

What I do try and do is mix both road running and trails on a regular basis. Not least because trail running is a lot more scenic, but the terrain is very varied, the foot roll is not repetitive and more of you leg gets a look-in if you know what I mean. Motion control shoes are of little help here as due to the terrain your foot is all over the place, but crucially it is random and not repetitive. The shoe I wear for these runs is neutral as motion control is of little relevance.

Variety is the key for me, both from a motivation point of view and avoiding injury. Another reason I hate treadmills.
 
That's it - variety. Too much of anything is going to have negative effects sooner of later.

Just to add in where a barefoot shoe would be a good choice over a more cushioned one:

When training for an event with a lot of gradients - the additional calf & achilles tendon activity of the barefoot shoe will naturally make it a good choice for this type of training as the calf muscles will always be in a positive contraction, hence running uphill should, in theory, be easier after running with them for a while...
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
Just a word on trainers. If you intend to do any running in them please go and get your gait assessed at a reputably running shop and the get the right shoe for you, otherwise you are looking at knee trouble at the very least. The first aspect is getting the support and motion control that you need (if any) and the second aspect is that they all fit just a little bit differently (and our feet are unique) so what is lovely and comfy on one person may pinch and rub on someone else. Having a sock full of blisters is never a pleasant experience.

I admire Charlotte's ability to bear foot run but I suspect (from her profile pic) she is both relatively young and light (just looked at her previous post - 50kg!). For us older (and heavier) farts, a bit more care must be taken. Especially if the exercise involves repetitive impact. My feet bio-mechanics have learnt a lot of bad habits over the years from ill-advised footwear and I suspect that if I tried running my 92kg bear-foot then it wouldn't be long before I was in a world of pain.
Click to expand...

I do agree to an extent, however one of my partnera started running barefoot two years ago at 37 and now does half marathons. He's not a small man, 6ft and very broad and large chested. You have to take it up slowly, like any sport (otherwise of course you'll be in a world of pain), but there is absolutely no reason why someone couldn't if they wanted to (assuming relatively normal health).

But yes I am a bit of an exception. Even before starting barefoot running I was barefoot about 95% of the time anyway, so it was no big jump for me to make.

Additionally I found that 'properly fitted' motion control shoes actually made my knee and hip worse. So it is not the solution to everyone.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here's a good one:

A laundry bag...which doubles up as a boxing bag!!!

1549301_10153734493470305_792189529_n.jpg
 
Right a quick question about nutrition for those who know more than me:

Using the Harris Benedict equation I have worked out my 'maintenance calories' are 2065 (6ft, 196lbs). Considering I'm doing Insanity 6 days a week and the majority of the rest of the time is sitting at a desk or only light walking I've gone for the 'active' which is x1.55 which gives me 3200 calories. I'm looking to lose my excessive weight as effectively as possible so I have given myself the aim for 2lbs a week (Not sure how much more you could go but faster is even better if possible?) which gives me a calorie defecit of 1000 calories per day so I should be eating around 2200 calories.

After inputting yesterdays food (mainly taken from the Insanity nutrition guide with a few tweaks here and there so pretty much 100% clean calories) the total consumption was 1989 calories with a breakdown of (53% carbs, 25% protein, 22% fat). Alongside this I drank about 2.5-3ltrs of water as well.

How does this breakdown sound? Anyway in which this could obviously be improved?

p.s I can give a full food breakdown if needed
p.p.s I realise actual weight may not come down if muscle is built etc etc
 
Jacov12_1993, I can't answer specifics about your diet where weight loss is concerned but as for Insanity and weight loss, my experience was that I lost 5-7lb (I'm 6ft tall and was around 217lb) over the course of a 4-6 weeks with no real changes to my diet.

Probably more significant was the way I looked. Admitedly I didn't do before and after pictures or measure myself but the wife kept complaining that she could see abs (she hates men with 6 packs :lol: ) and also said my shoulders & chest were more defined.

My opinion with Insanity is that if you're not massively overweight you might not notice that much difference on the scales but you will see changes in muscle definition after 3-4 weeks.
 
Jake,

A really easy way (and usually quite accurate) is to multiply your weight by 22 for women / 24 for me and from that figure subtract however many calories you think you can adjust by.

For exercise, adding calories to the total day is pointless - you need calories that are dedicated to your workout.

If your workout is tough (breathing really heavy most of the time) then eat 1g carbs per minute of intended exercise.

If it's only moderate intensity, consume 1g.

I'd look to eat this (in addition to normal meal) around 1.5hrs prior to exercise so that it's ready for energy at the time you start.

*don't eat protein befire you workoutout - this will hold everything else in your stomach and your pre workout carbs will not be available for your workout.
 
Russ77 said:
Jacov12_1993, I can't answer specifics about your diet where weight loss is concerned but as for Insanity and weight loss, my experience was that I lost 5-7lb (I'm 6ft tall and was around 217lb) over the course of a 4-6 weeks with no real changes to my diet.

Probably more significant was the way I looked. Admitedly I didn't do before and after pictures or measure myself but the wife kept complaining that she could see abs (she hates men with 6 packs :lol: ) and also said my shoulders & chest were more defined.

My opinion with Insanity is that if you're not massively overweight you might not notice that much difference on the scales but you will see changes in muscle definition after 3-4 weeks.
Click to expand...

Thanks Russ, that's pretty much what I expected. At the moment I have about 1 stone of 'flab' I'd like to get rid of from the last few months of no exercise. I've heard that most people see definition changes rather than weight changes which is my ultimate aim after the little weight loss.

The nutrition is more because everywhere I read says that insanity is 90% nutrition for the visible results so I think if I'm going to commit to 6days/week for 9 weeks I may as well properly commit
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top