The Fitness Thread

[ClemmonsDevil]

my understanding continues to be that there are few calories in melted cheese.

I think you are looking for the "Immutable Truths" thread.

[mpj96]

Have been beefing up the pushup routine. Trying to get to 500 in the fewest number of sets possible. When I ramped all the way up to 500 about 6 or 8 weeks ago it took me 12-13 sets to get to 500. I got there in 6 sets today for an average of 83/set.

That is ridiculous. Well done.

[mpj96]

my understanding continues to be that there are few calories in melted cheese.

As a grilled cheese sandwich scientist I can confirm that this statement is 100% accurate. No kidding. If you are not eating a grilled cheese sandwich right now, you are flirting with death.

[budwom]

As a grilled cheese sandwich scientist I can confirm that this statement is 100% accurate. No kidding. If you are not eating a grilled cheese sandwich right now, you are flirting with death.

good take. When the cheese melts, you can see the volume reducing, and that's the calories going out of it, but miraculously not the flavor. Premium burgers on the grill tonight for guests, topped with melted you know what!

[OldPhiKap]

good take. When the cheese melts, you can see the volume reducing, and that's the calories going out of it, but miraculously not the flavor. Premium burgers on the grill tonight for guests, topped with melted you know what!

Yes, the bubbles are the gas form of calories escaping.

[Rich]

Just joining this thread so apologies if this has been discussed, but over the last 6 months I added free weights and some circuit training to my aerobic workouts, which are mostly elliptical and treadmill walking. I love the free weights and have seen great results, but have developed tendinitis in my elbow. A guy at the gym recommended using bands to supplement my free weight workouts in order to relieve stress on my elbows. He said he was able to get very good muscle definition by supplementing his free weight workouts with bands.

I've tried some HASfit videos on YouTube that provide a great workout with bands, but they seem to be an alternative to my aerobic workouts. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to supplement my free weight strength training by using bands and haven't seen the guy who gave me the idea. I'm primarily focusing on upper body, arms, chest, back as well as abs. Any suggestions for how to do this? A good website I should check out?

[thedukeman]

Just joining this thread so apologies if this has been discussed, but over the last 6 months I added free weights and some circuit training to my aerobic workouts, which are mostly elliptical and treadmill walking. I love the free weights and have seen great results, but have developed tendinitis in my elbow. A guy at the gym recommended using bands to supplement my free weight workouts in order to relieve stress on my elbows. He said he was able to get very good muscle definition by supplementing his free weight workouts with bands.

I've tried some HASfit videos on YouTube that provide a great workout with bands, but they seem to be an alternative to my aerobic workouts. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to supplement my free weight strength training by using bands and haven't seen the guy who gave me the idea. I'm primarily focusing on upper body, arms, chest, back as well as abs. Any suggestions for how to do this? A good website I should check out?

Hey man. I'm new but im pretty into body building and fitness. It just depends what your goals are. Most people who do free weights I feel like are seeking muscle gain. If your goal is to build muscle bands can be fine but should probably be supplemented. Your elliptical and treadmill work will keep you lean but wont actually build much muscle. I would recommend machine movements if you belong at a gym, they tend to be much safer than free weights due to the limited movement and essentially force you to go have good form. Maybe also body weight movements like pushups, pullups. All stuff that is high rep and low risk of injury while stimulating muscle growth.

If your goal is to just stay lean/thin then you can do whatever you like really as long as you are burning calories. You could even take a brief break from exercises all together just to recover and just eat less and look about the same. Hope this helps. This is one of my first posts so its probs I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.

[ClemmonsDevil]

Hey man. I'm new but im pretty into body building and fitness. It just depends what your goals are. Most people who do free weights I feel like are seeking muscle gain. If your goal is to build muscle bands can be fine but should probably be supplemented. Your elliptical and treadmill work will keep you lean but wont actually build much muscle. I would recommend machine movements if you belong at a gym, they tend to be much safer than free weights due to the limited movement and essentially force you to go have good form. Maybe also body weight movements like pushups, pullups. All stuff that is high rep and low risk of injury while stimulating muscle growth.

If your goal is to just stay lean/thin then you can do whatever you like really as long as you are burning calories. You could even take a brief break from exercises all together just to recover and just eat less and look about the same. Hope this helps. This is one of my first posts so its probs I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.

This is a good early post with very good information. In my younger days I was convinced I would be able to bench press 300 lbs at 5'8" 160. I got to 285...and revised downwards after the hernia surgery.

[elvis14]

Hey man. I'm new but im pretty into body building and fitness. It just depends what your goals are. Most people who do free weights I feel like are seeking muscle gain. If your goal is to build muscle bands can be fine but should probably be supplemented. Your elliptical and treadmill work will keep you lean but wont actually build much muscle. I would recommend machine movements if you belong at a gym, they tend to be much safer than free weights due to the limited movement and essentially force you to go have good form. Maybe also body weight movements like pushups, pullups. All stuff that is high rep and low risk of injury while stimulating muscle growth.

If your goal is to just stay lean/thin then you can do whatever you like really as long as you are burning calories. You could even take a brief break from exercises all together just to recover and just eat less and look about the same. Hope this helps. This is one of my first posts so its probs I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.

Good advice here. As I've gotten older, I've moved to higher reps with lower weights and bodyweight exercises. Mostly to maintain muscle (and to build a little). For me not getting injured became much more important seeing how much weight I could lift. At the same time, it's still satisfying to lift with free weights (even if I'm using less). I've not been to the gym in a year (they closed our gym at work - which is as good as small private gyms) and I've been using dumbbells here at home (much lighter). I'm looking forward to being able to move some real plates around again...

[Rich]

Hey man. I'm new but im pretty into body building and fitness. It just depends what your goals are. Most people who do free weights I feel like are seeking muscle gain. If your goal is to build muscle bands can be fine but should probably be supplemented. Your elliptical and treadmill work will keep you lean but wont actually build much muscle. I would recommend machine movements if you belong at a gym, they tend to be much safer than free weights due to the limited movement and essentially force you to go have good form. Maybe also body weight movements like pushups, pullups. All stuff that is high rep and low risk of injury while stimulating muscle growth.

If your goal is to just stay lean/thin then you can do whatever you like really as long as you are burning calories. You could even take a brief break from exercises all together just to recover and just eat less and look about the same. Hope this helps. This is one of my first posts so its probs I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.

Thanks! In case you want to add to your response, my goal is to build muscle (which I've already done since I started about 6 months ago) but in a way that doesn't get me huge. I'd rather have nice definition than be bulked up. I enjoy free weights, do them no sooner than every 48 hours, and don't think I'm overdoing it. I try to do 5 reps of 12 for each exercise, but in the later reps I usually can only get to 8 or 10. Important to note that I only use dumbbells and some machines since my gym is small and doesn't have barbells. On the off days I focus on aerobic such as the treadmill, elliptical, online band exercises that focus on aerobic, or just take the day off.

I'm hoping interchanging band strengthening exercises with my free weight exercises can help me with my goal of muscle definition and fewer injuries, but I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish it.

[thedukeman]

Thanks! In case you want to add to your response, my goal is to build muscle (which I've already done since I started about 6 months ago) but in a way that doesn't get me huge. I'd rather have nice definition than be bulked up. I enjoy free weights, do them no sooner than every 48 hours, and don't think I'm overdoing it. I try to do 5 reps of 12 for each exercise, but in the later reps I usually can only get to 8 or 10. Important to note that I only use dumbbells and some machines since my gym is small and doesn't have barbells. On the off days I focus on aerobic such as the treadmill, elliptical, online band exercises that focus on aerobic, or just take the day off.

I'm hoping interchanging band strengthening exercises with my free weight exercises can help me with my goal of muscle definition and fewer injuries, but I'm not exactly sure how to accomplish it.

Sure man ill try! Sounds like you got a good thing going already. Your goals sound similar to bodybuilding. Most people (not saying you are one of these people either) think of huge giant balls of muscle when they think of body builders but thats not really the case, that's usually like 1% of people who are also on steroids and have gifted genetics. For most people like myself, and who are natural (not on steroids or gear), we are just trying to gain muscle without fat and get that "personal trainer" healthy and defined look. it's very unlikely you will try to gain muscle and "accidentally" gain massive amounts of lean muscle mass.

That's awesome you are experiencing growth. For people who are new to lifting, this is sometimes characterized as "noobie gains". Essentially, the first 6 months to a year of your training your body will experience the most growth and changes you may ever experience. Someone who has not tried to gain muscle before could do only pushups for 6 months consistently and their body would likely respond relatively well in terms of increase in the reps they can do, intensity, as well as size. During this time your body is incredible at burning fat and also gaining muscle. You sound like you are doing much more than just pushups which is awesome. You are taking great advantage of this period of opportunity. Unfortunately, many people will stop because these gains will eventually slow and your body will "stall" and respond much slower. This may be a large contributing factor to people burning out and quitting or taking breaks because it just isnt as fun when you are working and not seeing progress. I promise you are progressing tho so stick with it!

That was a long winded way to pretty much just say that although I don't know what exactly what you are doing, as long as you have done some research and are doing decent exercises with decent form, just keep doing them even if progress slows. If you are really serious, and would like to take your physique to the next level and experience more changes similar to the "noobie gains" phase, you should look at nutrition. For people who have a solid understanding of exercising and movements for muscle building, nutrition honestly becomes almost more important. Implementing changes to your diet, if you have a strong lifting foundation, will be exponentially more important to muscle growth than deciding between certain band exercises or free weight exercises. Some basics are eating enough protein (.8 to 1 gram per pound of body weight), eating at a reasonable calorie surplus or deficit, and if you can, continue to get micronutrients. This tho can be off-putting for some people and if you find it is overwhelming, unenjoyable, or even too expensive, just continue what you are doing. Being healthy and happy and consistent with ur already developed good habits is probably more important.

Sorry for the information dump. Some people who I would suggest you look at rather than randos on the internet are greg doucette, jeff nippard, or jessie james west all on youtube. Greg is my favorite. He has that bulky look you are probably avoiding, but his advice is applicable to any lifter. He is that big because he pursued professional competition and took steroids and discloses that. Jeff and Jessie are "natural" and may still be bulkier than your goals, but they have one in a million genetics and actually look like they took steroids. Almost nobody could look like they do even if they took steroids it is virtually impossible to achieve that look "on accident". The process to building muscle is honestly not very complicated and totally achievable with consistency. The same methods people use to make themselves look like the hulk are usually the same as what people do to look like brad pitt in fight club or zac efron in neighbors. Nutrition and consistency is the key. Cheers!!

[-jk]

It's finally warmed up, so I'm back out on my bike. My knees don't appreciate cold weather biking, alas; I'm awful at exercising in the cold months. I did manage 50 miles this week as a shakedown. Looking forward to getting back in the woods on singletrack!

-jk

[wilson]

I have reactivated my gym membership and I went for my early morning workout today for the first time since last March. I held on admirably for most of last year, but haven’t done well fitness-wise the last few months. I have work to do, but this morning wasn’t as disastrous as I’d feared, and it felt great to be back.

[OldPhiKap]

I have reactivated my gym membership and I went for my early morning workout today for the first time since last March. I held on admirably for most of last year, but haven’t done well fitness-wise the last few months. I have work to do, but this morning wasn’t as disastrous as I’d feared, and it felt great to be back.

I look forward to this — targeting early June since I will be out of town a bit between now and then.

[luburch]

Officially registered for my first marathon. Race is at the end of July and the current goal is to run sub 2:45.

Had my first 20 mile run over the weekend and was surprised at how good I felt. Just need to make it to the starting line healthy.

[SlimSlowSlider]

Officially registered for my first marathon. Race is at the end of July and the current goal is to run sub 2:45.

Seems like a sub-2:45 marathon (for a first timer, no less) is way beyond "fitness"!

[Duke79UNLV77]

Officially registered for my first marathon. Race is at the end of July and the current goal is to run sub 2:45.

Had my first 20 mile run over the weekend and was surprised at how good I felt. Just need to make it to the starting line healthy.

I ran my latest in April in 3:08, which was 4 minutes off my PR, thanks in part to a very windy day. Color me impressed with a 2:45 goal!

[wilson]

Cranked out a second straight early morning workout today. Not much yet, but it's a start back toward the good fitness rhythm I had established when I started this thread. I ran 2.5 miles straight this morning, albeit at a slow clip. Still pleasantly surprised at the stamina I still have, and I'll be working on ramping up my pace probably starting in another couple of weeks once I've knocked the rust off more fully and am not dealing with quite so much daily soreness.

[elvis14]

Officially registered for my first marathon. Race is at the end of July and the current goal is to run sub 2:45.

Had my first 20 mile run over the weekend and was surprised at how good I felt. Just need to make it to the starting line healthy.

Cranked out a second straight early morning workout today. Not much yet, but it's a start back toward the good fitness rhythm I had established when I started this thread. I ran 2.5 miles straight this morning, albeit at a slow clip. Still pleasantly surprised at the stamina I still have, and I'll be working on ramping up my pace probably starting in another couple of weeks once I've knocked the rust off more fully and am not dealing with quite so much daily soreness.

I have to admit that I'm a bit jealous of those of you that can do distance (run/bike/swim/etc). It doesn't matter what kind of shape I'm in, I always struggle with distances. Running 2.5 miles straight would be an accomplishment for me. I almost always do intervals when I'm doing distance work. Some of the issue is exercise induced asthma (inhaler helps some). Having said that, I've always been fast in short distances and I could jump (which helps when you're 5'7" and play competitive volleyball).

I'm kind of in between fitness regimen's right now. Which for me means I'm having trouble getting momentum started. After the 2200 push-up challenge here on DBR was completed, I was looking for what to do next to challenge myself. Last week I started doing burpees (full push up burpees). I started with 10 last Monday and added 2 each day. Last night I did 24 and hope to knock out 26 today. It'll be interesting to see how long I can keep adding 2 before I can't complete the set. I'm thinking once I get there I might level off to 25 a day and then start with something else like squats or lunges with dumbbells or something that hits multiple body parts (like squats with dumbbells with shoulder press at the top, for example). If I could get to where I'm doing 3 complex movements at a decent count each day, I could maintain my fitness level for a while until I get inspired to start something 'real'. I'm also about ready to try going to the gym to see if I'm comfortable there...

[tfk53]

New to this thread so has been fun to read what others are doing.
, Now in my late 60s - boy, is it painful to see that in print - my goal is to keep moving and try to regain some of my past abilities, altho never very fast. Gym closure has cut down my lifting as buying a set of dumbbells has been become exceedingly expensive. Bands just not the same thing. Indoor biking has kept me going on a spin bike (non-Peloton) and now back to riding outside. The hardest is to kick my running back up. A 3:33 marathon in my mid-forties and a 2:25 Olympic Tri were my peak. Now struggling to do 2-3 miles at less than 11 min pace! Altho this weekend I did a run at that pace at 5300 feet in Boulder. So maybe there is hope to get better.