The Fitness thread

jacob12_1993 said:
How you finding P90X3?
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Loving it :) I was actually against the 30 minute thing as a 60 minute workout suits me. But it's really very good. 30 punishing minutes with a lot of clever science*. You will need equipment though. In theory you can do it all with elastic bands. In practise you'll want a pull up bar and a few dumb bells plus slightly more space than Insanity. IIRC T25 doesn't need any kit. Most people on T25 say it's easier than Insanity.

X3 (and all the P90 series) are very different from Insanity. Insanity will give you CV fitness - for X you'll need some muscle. And if you stick it for 90 days you'll actually have quite a lot of muscle ;)

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* I'm doing doubles so today was 60 punishing minutes. The start of block 2 is very hard.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Loving it :) I was actually against the 30 minute thing as a 60 minute workout suits me. But it's really very good. 30 punishing minutes with a lot of clever science*. You will need equipment though. In theory you can do it all with elastic bands. In practise you'll want a pull up bar and a few dumb bells plus slightly more space than Insanity. IIRC T25 doesn't need any kit. Most people on T25 say it's easier than Insanity.

X3 (and all the P90 series) are very different from Insanity. Insanity will give you CV fitness - for X you'll need some muscle. And if you stick it for 90 days you'll actually have quite a lot of muscle ;)

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* I'm doing doubles so today was 60 punishing minutes. The start of block 2 is very hard.
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It sounds good, I'm hoping to be in reasonable general shape come the end of insanity so hopefully I should have a base fitness that is good enough to give P90X3 a good go.

I've tried a few of the T25 videos and they are hard but in a different way, even more cardio based than insanity and non-stop for 25 minutes, I'm wondering if Beta/Gamma are good starting points rather than doing Alpha which is just below Insanity month 1 level of intensity.

The other option is to do a hybrid of them all, I'm sure there must be one online somewhere...
 
jacob12_1993 said:
The other option is to do a hybrid of them all, I'm sure there must be one online somewhere...
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Probably. But I wouldn't advise it for your first round. The more I see of the BB workouts, the more I realise there is some actual proper science involved here (e.g. this morning 40 eccentric pullups wore me out in a way that 150 pullups wouldn't do normally). Especially in X3 (which is a decade on from X) the sequencing of the workouts is supposed to be important. For example in Body Beast you are advised not to do any extra CV as this could sabotage some of the muscle gains.

A lot of people do a hybrid of X and Insanity because they don't find the CV element of X rewarding enough. But blast your way through 30 minutes of "The Challenge" before you think about a hybrid of X3 ;)
 
jacob12_1993 said:
How you finding P90X3? Looks like something I may contemplate after finishing Insanity, like the idea of 30mins so either that or T25...
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Just seen a message from a friend who has done T25. He reckons the Alpha is part is really just Insanity minus warm up and cool down and very similar exercises. I.e. save your money.
 
Eccentric Lower (basically 30 mins of squats and lunges with heavy weights, fast on the concentric, 3 count on the eccentric) immediately followed by CVX (30 mins of tough cardio while holding a 4 kilo med ball). Yeah, I nearly died.
 
Good luck with that. Best have a bucket handy ;)

Meanwhile in my world: Incinerator (30 mins of driving upper body to exhaustion by repeated hypertrophy exercises) followed by 30 mins of Isometrix ("it's the hard bit from Yoga" - various balance poses held for 45 seconds each).

First time I've actually been in pain during a workout.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Good luck with that. Best have a bucket handy ;)

Meanwhile in my world: Incinerator (30 mins of driving upper body to exhaustion by repeated hypertrophy exercises) followed by 30 mins of Isometrix ("it's the hard bit from Yoga" - various balance poses held for 45 seconds each).

First time I've actually been in pain during a workout.
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Turns out I'm averaging a 35% increase in fitness over the 30 days, pretty happy with that...
 
I'm struggling. I can barely manage more than 2 sessions of 10 mins and cannot manage 20 mins continuous running. I'm tempted to give it a break and maybe do some HIIT running to mix things up. I tried it today - I could run at double my normal jog/slow run speed and kept it up for 60secs. But I needed two mins recovery before I could do it again.

I've noticed two things recently - I'm now no longer out of puff like I used to be when jogging and the max heart rate is 100bpm. When I started c25k this would hit 170bpm! I also feel that deadlifts and squats seem to work my heart harder than a jog.

My work shifts have also been moved round and whereas before I went to the gym three times a week, I'm now only gonna be able to go twice a week. I've moved my lifting regime to a 2-day split but wonder whether it's better to go for a whole body routine twice a week instead. [PLEASE DON'T TRY TO BYPASS THE SWEAR FILTER] knows how I'm gonna have the energy to running afterwards.
 
omens said:
I'm struggling. I can barely manage more than 2 sessions of 10 mins and cannot manage 20 mins continuous running. I'm tempted to give it a break and maybe do some HIIT running to mix things up. I tried it today - I could run at double my normal jog/slow run speed and kept it up for 60secs. But I needed two mins recovery before I could do it again.

I've noticed two things recently - I'm now no longer out of puff like I used to be when jogging and the max heart rate is 100bpm. When I started c25k this would hit 170bpm! I also feel that deadlifts and squats seem to work my heart harder than a jog.

My work shifts have also been moved round and whereas before I went to the gym three times a week, I'm now only gonna be able to go twice a week. I've moved my lifting regime to a 2-day split but wonder whether it's better to go for a whole body routine twice a week instead. flippitybopwithguinness knows how I'm gonna have the energy to running afterwards.
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Omens, out of interest what's your jogging pace for 10 minute splits compared to a 20 minute straight run?

To be honest, if you can manage 20 minutes continuous running then you are so very close to be able to run 5k. This may sound counter intuitive but you may want to concentrate on either the lifting or the running for a while. Serve the one mistress until you've conquered her so to speak... It sounds somewhat that your cardiac fitness has got out of pace with your running strength due to the recovery requirements from the extra weight work you are doing.
 
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Maybe. I run at 8kph on the treadmill so quite slow. The problem is that ten mins appears to tax my lungs and legs. I walk for five mins and go again. I tried 7kph when doing 20 mins. I can fast walk at 5kph.

When I lost weight (3 stone), I lost a lot of muscle. I was suprised at how feeble I'd become. Hence I was determined to at least regain what I had lost.

The problem is that I want to muscular, low in bodyfat and able to run. I know I can't achieve all three simultaneously so I'm currently concentrating on muscle with the aim to "clean bulk", and try some CVS fitness too.
 
Omens don't forget that running isn't just about cardio, it will develop muscle too although obviously the upper body effects are minimal. Maybe try concentrating the weight sessions on your upper body and core (which is really important for running) and let the running sort out the lower body. Keep your pace in check and your leg muscles will benefit accordingly, if you go too fast and end up anaerobic then you risk breaking down muscles for energy.

Oh, and that pace is fine for where you are currently. When you say slow you are only comparing it to others which is completely the wrong thing to do. You are your own benchmark, not others.
 
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ChrisJ_SLH said:
if you go too fast and end up anaerobic then you risk breaking down muscles for energy.
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Just to intervene...

This only happens in the absence of carbohydrate (glycogen) which is the preferred source of energy for higher than moderate intensities.

You can be 90% MHR and not touch amino acids for energy as long as there is readily available glycogen.
 
omens said:
I'm struggling. I can barely manage more than 2 sessions of 10 mins and cannot manage 20 mins continuous running. I'm tempted to give it a break and maybe do some HIIT running to mix things up. I tried it today - I could run at double my normal jog/slow run speed and kept it up for 60secs. But I needed two mins recovery before I could do it again.

I've noticed two things recently - I'm now no longer out of puff like I used to be when jogging and the max heart rate is 100bpm. When I started c25k this would hit 170bpm! I also feel that deadlifts and squats seem to work my heart harder than a jog.

My work shifts have also been moved round and whereas before I went to the gym three times a week, I'm now only gonna be able to go twice a week. I've moved my lifting regime to a 2-day split but wonder whether it's better to go for a whole body routine twice a week instead. flippitybopwithguinness knows how I'm gonna have the energy to running afterwards.
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How far apart are your two work out days? If 48hrs minimum, then yes go for all body workouts. If done with minimal rest periods between sets you won't really need to do any cardio because your heart rate will be increased anyway. If you do need to add cardio, do it at the end and try some interval training on a rowing machine instead of using the treadmill. Start off with 30secs moderate then 30secs fast, for 5 minutes then gradually increase the length of time spent on the rower as your fitness level increases.
I've tried some of this blokes workouts https://www.youtube.com/user/vicsnatural?feature=watch mainly using light to moderate weights for 20 reps on first set holding the weight with muscles contracted and under tension for 5 secs on each rep, then repeat for 18 reps, 15 reps, 12 reps, then 10 reps, 45 secs rest between sets if you have chosen the correct weight each set will have been to failure and you will seriously be feeling the burn after each set. As it gets easier, reduce the rest periods to 30secs, once you can do that comfortably, then increase the weight. Only exercises you should do to full motion are tricep pushdowns and leg extensions, rest of exercises are to 80 to 90% of what you would normally see as the range of motion, hold the weight where you can feel the weight still having an effect on the muscle.
 
I'm quite aware of how long it will take me. I tried both Ice-cream fitness and Starting Strength and found they were too time consuming. I may retry SS.

My old split:
Tues - Back, traps, biceps
Thurs - Chest, shoulders, triceps
Sat - Legs, abs

Current split:
Weds - Chest, back, traps, biceps
Sat - Legs, shoulders, triceps

I normally rest 90-120 secs when doing squats and deadlifts. Otherwise, it's 60 secs. I've started alternating between bodyparts on each exercise eg incline BB press is followed by pull ups. It means I don't have to wait for that bodypart to recover before moving on to the next exercise. The gym is too busy to allow me to properly superset.
 
Can you not train before work in the morning. Some gyms are open from around 4:00 am during weekdays.
 
So running is harder than it looks.

Took my car in for a service today. Walked home. They called and said it was ready after lunch so "oh, it's a nice day, why don't I prove my manliness and run down?"

Problems:
1. I don't have any running gear. In the end I put on my skins and wore shorts over the top and put on a pair of trail shoes.
2. All the runners I see have water. But I don't have one of those fancy running water bottles. No worries, I need to take some clothes anyway (to pop in Sainsburys) so I'll just load up a Camelbak. Yeah, the only time I tried to drink from it I nearly choked.
3. I haven't actually run anywhere in literally years so I had no idea how fast to run. I had a vague idea that I'd read something about "8" in this thread so I thought I'd aim for 8 minute miles. Fortunately the traffic noise was too loud for me to hear Runkeeper so I didn't know how much I was missing that by.

I ended up at 2.15 miles in 20 mins dead. 9m 25s per mile :(

On the plus side, the guys in the garage didn't look at me like they thought I was going to die when I went in the door. Also, nobody laughed at me when I went in Sainsburys without changing possibly because (a) they are used to students/tourists and/or (b) I did Eccentric Upper this morning and my arms were still pumped ;)
 
JonathanRyan said:
So running is harder than it looks.

Took my car in for a service today. Walked home. They called and said it was ready after lunch so "oh, it's a nice day, why don't I prove my manliness and run down?"

Problems:
1. I don't have any running gear. In the end I put on my skins and wore shorts over the top and put on a pair of trail shoes.
2. All the runners I see have water. But I don't have one of those fancy running water bottles. No worries, I need to take some clothes anyway (to pop in Sainsburys) so I'll just load up a Camelbak. Yeah, the only time I tried to drink from it I nearly choked.
3. I haven't actually run anywhere in literally years so I had no idea how fast to run. I had a vague idea that I'd read something about "8" in this thread so I thought I'd aim for 8 minute miles. Fortunately the traffic noise was too loud for me to hear Runkeeper so I didn't know how much I was missing that by.

I ended up at 2.15 miles in 20 mins dead. 9m 25s per mile :(

On the plus side, the guys in the garage didn't look at me like they thought I was going to die when I went in the door. Also, nobody laughed at me when I went in Sainsburys without changing possibly because (a) they are used to students/tourists and/or (b) I did Eccentric Upper this morning and my arms were still pumped ;)
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Firstly, 8 min/mile is a fairly brisk pace to be honest. Pace is a personal thing but if you haven't run in years you aren't going very far that fast. The fact that you managed the pace you did after such a long spell off would indicate that you have a decent level of fitness though.

Secondly, you shouldn't need water for such a short distance unless you are pretty dehydrated to start with in which case running any distance is probably not a good idea.

Finally, don't worry about mincing about in Sainsburys in your lycra. I often do it at the end of my runs to buy the odd thing, as long as you've got a bit of a sweat on you can get away with not looking too ridiculous (or so I tell myself).

Good effort though, try and make it more regular than 'literally years' (y)
 
Thanks. Yeah when I say "literally years" I mean the last time I can recall running this far outdoors was at school in the 80s. Haven't been on a treadmill for at least 10 years so it was all a bit of a shock ;) The good news was that apart from sore shins I felt I could easily have run twice as far.

This morning felt fine until I did my Triometrics workout (basically 30 mins of jumping and one legged squats). For some reason my legs felt tired in that....
 
Yeah these new fitness tracking things are addictive......

movescount.jpg
 
ChrisJ_SLH said:
How are the guys doing the C25K getting on?
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Badly... spent too long not doing it, thanks in part to ridiculous hours for training for my new job, but mostly due to my own lack of motivation... tried to do a run, felt god awful, pain in my lower back (had just started running up hill) and gave in... then left it again for ages, so I've started at week 1 again, though intend to run each 'step' once until I find the one I start to struggle at, then take it properly therein.
 
VirtualAdept said:
Badly... spent too long not doing it, thanks in part to ridiculous hours for training for my new job, but mostly due to my own lack of motivation...
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I posted another thread about this, but I'm really enjoying the Run with Zombies 5k training. Hard to lack motivation when the whole future of humanity depends on you. Also, you get guns.
 
3 1/2 weeks on and I'm still injured although improving, probably another couple of weeks before I can run again. Fortunately I can still used the elliptical trainer and exercise bike to keep the fitness level up a bit. I am climbing the walls though with frustration.
 
Insanity finally finished, the last week or two got a bit broken up due to being away from home but finally done the last fit test.

My results are all up by an average of 60% over the 2 months which I am pretty happy with. Also dropped about 17lbs (14st 1lb - 12st 12lb) over 9 weeks and I want to keep this going because I think I probably still have 1/2 stone I can shift easily and 12st 5lbs seems like a good target weight to be at for me (6ft tall).
 
5 weeks since I injured my achilles and my physio finally gave me the go ahead to gently start running again. (Very) Short runs and no hills for a while though but at least I can get start to get out on my feet again. Probably the worst sports injury I have had and more annoyingly totally avoidable in the first place if only I had stopped running when it started hurting. Ah well, such is life. At least the nights are a bit lighter now.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I posted another thread about this, but I'm really enjoying the Run with Zombies 5k training. Hard to lack motivation when the whole future of humanity depends on you. Also, you get guns.
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I looked into this... but since I'm scared pooless of zombies, I've no doubt I'd sprint the first 40 seconds then collapse
 
VirtualAdept said:
I looked into this... but since I'm scared pooless of zombies, I've no doubt I'd sprint the first 40 seconds then collapse
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Not to spoil the plot, but in the C25K version most of the zoms are chained up ;) You'll be fine. Just make sure you put this in your playlist....

 
jacob12_1993 said:
Insanity finally finished, the last week or two got a bit broken up due to being away from home but finally done the last fit test.

My results are all up by an average of 60% over the 2 months which I am pretty happy with. Also dropped about 17lbs (14st 1lb - 12st 12lb) over 9 weeks and I want to keep this going because I think I probably still have 1/2 stone I can shift easily and 12st 5lbs seems like a good target weight to be at for me (6ft tall).
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Woah - awesome stuff :) Bet the T shirt feels good.

Want to buy a second hand copy of P90X3 then? Back to back Eccentric Upper and MMX have just caused em to have a brief lie down.
 
Right then... I've been slowly doing each week in the NHS c25K again... do a run, see how it feels, if it was easy, step to next week... got the one I found a bit challenging today, week 5 run 1... I'm actually really happy with that, now I can get back on track, so to speak.
 
VirtualAdept said:
Right then... I've been slowly doing each week in the NHS c25K again... do a run, see how it feels, if it was easy, step to next week... got the one I found a bit challenging today, week 5 run 1... I'm actually really happy with that, now I can get back on track, so to speak.
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Nice work. Coincidentally just got back in from w5r1 myself. It was pouring rain :( But feels good now it's stopped :)

Pace was slightly down on w4 overall but I'm blaming the rain and the 5 mins of stretches you have to do.
 
The rain definitely reduced the traction between my trainers and the path, which explains my naff pace... thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
In all honesty it felt .od to be pushing again, even in the pouring rain.
 
Well, I managed one run after the all clear for the Achilles and then had a comedy slip in the shower reaching for the towel and ended up bruising/cracking some ribs. Great, just great. I've managed a 5k since (thanks ibuprofen) but wouldn't want to push my luck with anything longer until they improve. Fed up doesn't begin to describe it.
 
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