The Fitness Thread

[wilson]

Don't know about specific stretches, but more hydration may help the calf muscle issue.

I've been trying to be pretty faithful with this...usually finish off a quart of water at work after lunch, pound a glass (sometimes 2) before hitting the gym, and then continue hydrating after working out. How much water, as a general matter, do y'all aim to drink every day? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there on this topic.

[OldPhiKap]

I've been trying to be pretty faithful with this...usually finish off a quart of water at work after lunch, pound a glass (sometimes 2) before hitting the gym, and then continue hydrating after working out. How much water, as a general matter, do y'all aim to drink every day? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there on this topic.

I try for about 64 oz. a day. Not including coffee, which I think is somewhat of a mixed bag (predominantly water, but caffeine is a diuretic).

I am not a big guy, so that may be on the low end for some on this thread.

[devil84]

I've been trying to be pretty faithful with this...usually finish off a quart of water at work after lunch, pound a glass (sometimes 2) before hitting the gym, and then continue hydrating after working out. How much water, as a general matter, do y'all aim to drink every day? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there on this topic.

I try to drink until my urine is straw colored or lighter. If it's clear, I'm definitely hydrated and probably peeing a lot. If it's dark yellow, I'm not drinking enough and probably not peeing often and possibly cramping a lot if I'm exercising hard. I try to make sure I pee at least for every meal, even better to pee in between, too.

As far as number of ounces, there really haven't been studies on it. A lot of it comes from giving people a target to shoot for, whether to prevent dehydration or to displace calories to lose weight. Hard to consume lots of calories if your belly is full of water!

As far as quantity during exercise, I try for a water bottle per hour if I'm exercising hard, two if it's also extremely hot out. More if I'm thirsty.

And this is a test that even kids can do, too. It's what we told the kids at band camp. We had a number of kids with hydration issues, many feeling like they can somehow not need to hydrate. Once we explained pee color, we had significantly fewer problems.

[luburch]

AHEM...
You people.

Back to my recent question: I've lately been struggling with some fairly acute soreness/tightness in my calf muscles immediately after working out, plus some medium-level shin splint discomfort. I have new running shoes arriving any day now, which should help some, but can anyone recommend some stretches or other procedures to alleviate these pains?

When I was training for my mini and logging a lot of miles, I was constantly getting calf cramps. Using a foam roller for ~10 minutes shortly after each run helped immensely. You may not notice an immediate difference, but after a week or so it makes a world of difference.

[wilson]

I try to drink until my urine is straw colored or lighter. If it's clear, I'm definitely hydrated and probably peeing a lot. If it's dark yellow, I'm not drinking enough and probably not peeing often and possibly cramping a lot if I'm exercising hard. I try to make sure I pee at least for every meal, even better to pee in between, too.

As far as number of ounces, there really haven't been studies on it. A lot of it comes from giving people a target to shoot for, whether to prevent dehydration or to displace calories to lose weight. Hard to consume lots of calories if your belly is full of water!

As far as quantity during exercise, I try for a water bottle per hour if I'm exercising hard, two if it's also extremely hot out. More if I'm thirsty.

And this is a test that even kids can do, too. It's what we told the kids at band camp. We had a number of kids with hydration issues, many feeling like they can somehow not need to hydrate. Once we explained pee color, we had significantly fewer problems.

*happily accepts prize for getting a mod to openly discuss pee color*
I've definitely been hydrating to this degree. Seems like it might be more of an orthopedic problem. In recent days, I've been trying to do little calf/knee flexes throughout the day to stay loose, and again, I'm hoping that new shoes will help (the old ones are definitely shot, and I've experienced similar issues with old shoes in the past).
Now, I gotta pee.

[IrishDevil]

Back to my recent question: I've lately been struggling with some fairly acute soreness/tightness in my calf muscles immediately after working out, plus some medium-level shin splint discomfort. I have new running shoes arriving any day now, which should help some, but can anyone recommend some stretches or other procedures to alleviate these pains?

Not a stretch, but you can use two lacrosse balls in a tube sock as a way to apply foam roller-type torture/relief to the calf muscle, which I always found difficult otherwise. I have also used this on the outside of my lower leg. Other than that, just the standard calf stretches. When I was running/exercising more regularly and knew that my legs were strong enough to endure the stretch, my favorite was to drop my heel off a step or a curb.

Now, of course, with so long of a layoff and so many hours at a desk, I'm pretty sure I stretch my calf and hamstrings every time I look at something beyond arm's reach.

Thank you all for this thread and your contributions - seeing all your noble efforts encourages the rest of us!

[BD80]

Not a stretch, but you can use two lacrosse balls in a tube sock as a way to apply foam roller-type torture/relief to the calf muscle, which I always found difficult otherwise. I have also used this on the outside of my lower leg. Other than that, just the standard calf stretches. When I was running/exercising more regularly and knew that my legs were strong enough to endure the stretch, my favorite was to drop my heel off a step or a curb.

Now, of course, with so long of a layoff and so many hours at a desk, I'm pretty sure I stretch my calf and hamstrings every time I look at something beyond arm's reach.

Thank you all for this thread and your contributions - seeing all your noble efforts encourages the rest of us!

In stretching the calves, don't forget to bend the knee for part of the stretch to get one of the more problematic muscles in the calf that is frequently ignored in stretching.

[jimsumner]

I try to drink until my urine is straw colored or lighter. If it's clear, I'm definitely hydrated and probably peeing a lot. If it's dark yellow, I'm not drinking enough and probably not peeing often and possibly cramping a lot if I'm exercising hard. I try to make sure I pee at least for every meal, even better to pee in between, too.

As far as number of ounces, there really haven't been studies on it. A lot of it comes from giving people a target to shoot for, whether to prevent dehydration or to displace calories to lose weight. Hard to consume lots of calories if your belly is full of water!

As far as quantity during exercise, I try for a water bottle per hour if I'm exercising hard, two if it's also extremely hot out. More if I'm thirsty.

And this is a test that even kids can do, too. It's what we told the kids at band camp. We had a number of kids with hydration issues, many feeling like they can somehow not need to hydrate. Once we explained pee color, we had significantly fewer problems.

I'll take "what is too much information" for 200, Alex.

[elvis14]

When I was training for my mini and logging a lot of miles, I was constantly getting calf cramps. Using a foam roller for ~10 minutes shortly after each run helped immensely. You may not notice an immediate difference, but after a week or so it makes a world of difference.

luburch stole my answer so I'll just add a "me too" on the foam roller front. Don't know if it'll make the pain go away but it's an easy and cheap thing to try. Plus if the foam roller doesn't work on your calves you might find it does wonders for your back.

[OldPhiKap]

I'll take "what is too much information" for 200, Alex.

Just hope that the Daily Double doesn’t involve the stool floating test for fiber intake.

[devil84]

*happily accepts prize for getting a mod to openly discuss pee color*

You definitely get the prize! However, I've been preaching this to any of the high school kids I've been in charge of whenever there's an activity outside. I'm not shy on this front! And it's really quite an effective test.

I'll take "what is too much information" for 200, Alex.

Though please, one does NOT need to SHARE the results of one's test, other than to say, "Yep, I'm hydrated" or "Please pass the water."

And somewhere upthread, someone asked about caffeinated beverages. After much research on the topic and tormenting many of my doctor friends, I found that you can count 75% of the portion if you're trying to reach a certain goal. While it's a diuretic, it contains more liquid than it can remove. Why did I research this? At a five-day, overnight high school band camp, the chaperone moms demanded that they not drink ANY caffeine. No soda, no coffee, no iced tea. That left them with water (the moms wouldn't even let them have Sprite or orange soda). Well, most modern high school students have discovered the joys of Starbucks on the way to school and consume inordinate quantities of soda/sweet tea/coffee/Monster-type beverages during the day. To have them go cold-turkey makes them rather unbearable -- not just the real effects of caffeine withdrawal, but the of abridgement their freedom to choose their beverage is not well received. And then we're sending them out in the heat to learn music (which they like) and march (which they like) in the heat (which they don't like) for 8-12 hours a day, which is approximately 8-12 hours more exercise than they've gotten in the entirety of the the summer break. Let's just take caffeine withdrawal out of the picture, IMHO. And it also prevents them from bringing their own coffeemaker or cases of their favorite caffeinated beverage to camp. So, just drink 125% more caffeinated drinks. Most kids then note that they'll have to pee before the bathroom break if they drink that much, so they'll drink half the amount of their favorite beverage and have a reasonable glass of water. Limited withdrawal symptoms, still have freedom of choice, they are paying attention to hydration, and the parents don't look like hypocrites as they are inseparable from their coffee mugs even in 100 degree heat. Everybody wins.

[OldPhiKap]

And somewhere upthread, someone asked about caffeinated beverages. After much research on the topic and tormenting many of my doctor friends, I found that you can count 75% of the portion if you're trying to reach a certain goal. While it's a diuretic, it contains more liquid than it can remove. Why did I research this? At a five-day, overnight high school band camp, the chaperone moms demanded that they not drink ANY caffeine. No soda, no coffee, no iced tea. That left them with water (the moms wouldn't even let them have Sprite or orange soda). Well, most modern high school students have discovered the joys of Starbucks on the way to school and consume inordinate quantities of soda/sweet tea/coffee/Monster-type beverages during the day. To have them go cold-turkey makes them rather unbearable -- not just the real effects of caffeine withdrawal, but the of abridgement their freedom to choose their beverage is not well received. And then we're sending them out in the heat to learn music (which they like) and march (which they like) in the heat (which they don't like) for 8-12 hours a day, which is approximately 8-12 hours more exercise than they've gotten in the entirety of the the summer break. Let's just take caffeine withdrawal out of the picture, IMHO. And it also prevents them from bringing their own coffeemaker or cases of their favorite caffeinated beverage to camp. So, just drink 125% more caffeinated drinks. Most kids then note that they'll have to pee before the bathroom break if they drink that much, so they'll drink half the amount of their favorite beverage and have a reasonable glass of water. Limited withdrawal symptoms, still have freedom of choice, they are paying attention to hydration, and the parents don't look like hypocrites as they are inseparable from their coffee mugs even in 100 degree heat. Everybody wins.

I asked, and thanks for the info. I gave up soda (Diet Coke) about 14 months ago, but coffee and hot tea are still daily habits of mine.

Your band camps sound much more constructive than the last one I heard about. But I digress.

And agree with your original hydration test. You can tell you had a lot to drink last night when . . . you see the evidence of dehydration in the morning.

[Reddevil]

I try to drink until my urine is straw colored or lighter. If it's clear, I'm definitely hydrated and probably peeing a lot. If it's dark yellow, I'm not drinking enough and probably not peeing often and possibly cramping a lot if I'm exercising hard. I try to make sure I pee at least for every meal, even better to pee in between, too.

As far as number of ounces, there really haven't been studies on it. A lot of it comes from giving people a target to shoot for, whether to prevent dehydration or to displace calories to lose weight. Hard to consume lots of calories if your belly is full of water!

As far as quantity during exercise, I try for a water bottle per hour if I'm exercising hard, two if it's also extremely hot out. More if I'm thirsty.

And this is a test that even kids can do, too. It's what we told the kids at band camp. We had a number of kids with hydration issues, many feeling like they can somehow not need to hydrate. Once we explained pee color, we had significantly fewer problems.

^^^^^^^Amusing but very true, and now that I have passed two kidney stones, I live by this. To be honest I never paid much attention before, but I sure do now!

[Duke79UNLV77]

I've been struggling with some pretty severe soreness in my legs for the past couple of weeks. It usually is worst in the few minutes following my workout, but begins to subside with a little bit of cooldown. It is concentrated in my shins and calf muscles. I have a new pair of shoes arriving any day now, which should help; it was time. Any other pointers, stretches, tricks I should know about?

I recently had soreness in my left calf that kept me from being able to run for 2 weeks shortly before a scheduled marathon. I went to a great physical therapists, who worked on it some and gave me some tips that saved the day and allowed me to run the race.

My first suggestion would be to find a great physical therapist. What you have may not be what I had. For example, if you have a precursor to shin splints, you may want to go in a very different direction.

While on the ground, I used a band around my the bottom of my foot and lifted my left leg, kept straight, holding the stretch for 30 seconds, 3 times per day. I also extended my left foot to press against a wall, doing a set of 10 and holding each time for a 3 count, two to three times per day. I took advil and turmeric curcumin. I applied PT tape to the calf, one strip from the bottom of the foot towards the top of the calf, one strip from the bottom of the calf slanting towards the right, one the other way, and one short one across those at the top. Lastly, I spent some time in an infrared sauna. 5 days after therapy, I could run 9 miles. Another week later, I ran the marathon. Hydrating also is good. I drank a Hot Shot before the race and one at the 20 mile mark. A Nobel Prize-winning chemist invented Hot Shot to decrease cramping. Hey, if it turns out it's a placebo, I'm fine with that!

[devil84]

Back to my recent question: I've lately been struggling with some fairly acute soreness/tightness in my calf muscles immediately after working out, plus some medium-level shin splint discomfort. I have new running shoes arriving any day now, which should help some, but can anyone recommend some stretches or other procedures to alleviate these pains?

I took the liberty of asking my son this question. He's working on his PhD in Exercise Physiology and he's also a triathlete that struggled a bit with something similar a few years ago. Here's his response:

There’s no single great method, but mostly massage (either hand or tennis ball) or ice/heat therapy is usually the best at alleviating soreness like that. Stretching rarely does much acutely, but massage and alternating cold/hot is good at promoting blood flow, which helps clear some of the things associated with soreness.

Hope this helps!

[Reilly]

Thought some might find this of interest:

https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-c...nds-ncna855206

[left_hook_lacey]

Bought a new fancy scale this weekend and formed a weight loss challenge with some friends in the neighborhood. We all weighed in yesterday and wrote the weights on a small white board on my fridge. Every Friday afternoon after work, we're all going to weigh up and record the weight on the white board. We're doing this for 6 months. Competition, accountability, visual tracking. Check, check, and check.

This should be fun!

I'll post my Friday weigh in results to this thread. Maybe it'll inspire someone, or keep someone motivated that is getting burned out.

Starting weight: 237 lbs. Goal weight: 200 lbs.

[mattman91]

Gained 3 pounds over the weekend, 2 pounds less than last weekend. Hoping to get down to 203-204 by Friday.

[wilson]

I'm down 19 pounds since the beginning of my regimen in mid-January. I'm generally managing to drop a couple of pounds per week and hold steady on weekends. I'm very happy with my progress so far, but expecting a weight loss plateau soon (actually already had a brief plateau period in weeks 2-3).

[Turk]

OK, I'm in.

Back story: Graduated at 6'4", 195 lbs, playing pickup ball, club ultimate, working two jobs, and following a Pits / beer subsistence diet. Got my first salaryman job in the DC area, still playing ball / other sports leagues after work, now living on the classic bachelor diet of ramen noodles / tuna fish / microwave burritos / PB&J / takeout Chinese / pizza, plus Friday and / or Saturday nights out with the boys. Somehow talked Mrs. Turk into getting married, and after we moved to the Philly burbs my whole life fell apart. (bada boomp). Better food, more regular meals, not as much ball, and my weight starts inching (pounding?) up. When Swee'Pea was born, I was 32 and 225 lbs but still playing in a couple leagues in the winter, and also playing golf (walking) in the summer, so decent shape for a guy with a desk job. But I was gaining about a pound a year until I retired from league ball at 40. By that point, we had added twins Felix and Oscar to the roster, with Sunshine as the runt of the litter. Fast forward a bit more, I'm coaching the young Turks, and down to one or two leisurely pickup runs a week with other fat old guys. With all those mouths to feed, I also need to make some bank, so I got into the consultant racket, with travel, long hours, or both, and my weight floated around 240-245. I almost lost my pregnancy weight in 2014, when I got down to 228 while prepping for a a 10 day, 100 mile camping trek in Philmont, NM with the Felix and the Scouts, hiking with full pack at about 8500 feet, with two or three peaks at 11-12,000. So it's not a completely lost cause, and I know I can get back under 230.

Fast forward to February 2018, and at age 55, I'm around 255 after falling into bad habits and doing lots of research trying to write the perfect "Ymm Beer" post. This isn't going to work. So I used Ash Wednesday as my kickoff - no alcohol. Making an effort to hit the hotel gym, avoid bread where possible, and eat better. Got a fitbit and using the 10,000 step goal, but have not done much data analysis. Using MyFitnessPal sporadically for food logging.

When I'm home, my local Y has a good set of programs. I like yoga for stretching, and a workout program called "Body Pump" - 1 hour, light weights, lots of reps, targeted muscle groups, and a bit of cardio. Better than I can do on my own. I want to save what's left of my knees for pickup, so I either do the elliptical, the bike, or run laps on the high school track. Some people find track laps boring, but I like the ability to do measured intervals and goals depending on how I'm feeling. I don't want to run on asphalt or concrete anymore ever. I have also been getting some weekend day hikes in with Mrs. Turk at Valley Forge or a couple of the state parks that are reasonably close. It might be time to change jobs and see if I can find something that pays the same with less effort; that would help a lot.

But we will work with what we have. Weight this AM was 247. Goal for Easter is 240. We'll re-evaluate whether to add the occasional Dogfish Head or Victory beverages back into the mix at that time.