The Fitness Thread

I am a fan of splitting 'push' days and 'pull' days. I'm also a big fan of squats and lunges (you'll probably end up adding some weight before too long). The dips that you are doing with the chair will hit the tri's hard...they may be tough on your shoulders (I can't do them). I was picturing dips with parallel bars (or two tall chairs) in which case you get more chest if you lean forward, more tri's if you lean back (your way is all leaning back...not wrong, just pointing out the difference).

You can do a lot with pushups. Wide, regular, diamond, pike, and a version where you're hands are pulled down some and close to the body to hit the tri's more. I even do pushups against a counter to change the angle.

If you get bored with plank, add slow shoulder tap (right hand to left shoulder and back down, then left...). Will force your core to stabilize.
 
nmduke2001 said:
You could add a pike pushup in there. It works your shoulders and traps a bit.

BTW, walking helps a ton. I bought a $200 treadmill for my office and get 10,000 steps before 9:30 am every day while reading email and research reports.
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Hm, Pike pushup. Okay, I'll look that up. Throw that into the push day, so it looks like

Push Days:
Pushups
Dips
Pike Pushup

Is that okay? Or should I alter that first pushup somehow?

And holy cow, that's a CRAZY amount of steps! Would be hard for me to do that (I'm an elementary school teacher) but I'm getting a solid 14-15k a day?

elvis14 said:
I am a fan of splitting 'push' days and 'pull' days. I'm also a big fan of squats and lunges (you'll probably end up adding some weight before too long). The dips that you are doing with the chair will hit the tri's hard...they may be tough on your shoulders (I can't do them). I was picturing dips with parallel bars (or two tall chairs) in which case you get more chest if you lean forward, more tri's if you lean back (your way is all leaning back...not wrong, just pointing out the difference).

You can do a lot with pushups. Wide, regular, diamond, pike, and a version where you're hands are pulled down some and close to the body to hit the tri's more. I even do pushups against a counter to change the angle.

If you get bored with plank, add slow shoulder tap (right hand to left shoulder and back down, then left...). Will force your core to stabilize.
Click to expand...

Heard on the shoulders; so far they are okay? The squats and lunges are definitely making my knees creak, but maybe they will loosen up:)

Yeah, I thought I was doing a different dip than you said. Interesting about the leaning thing!

I'll look at the shoulder tap! That's interesting, don't know anything about it.

And looking at different pull up bars on Amazon.


Guys, I really REALLY appreciate the advice. If you have any other specifics in terms of the push/pull days I'd hugely appreciate it!


OH! And someone recommended creatine gummies? They said they help physically, and they really felt they helped mentally as well? I thought I'd give them a try:)
 
Lord Ash said:
Hm, Pike pushup. Okay, I'll look that up. Throw that into the push day, so it looks like

Push Days:
Pushups
Dips
Pike Pushup

Is that okay? Or should I alter that first pushup somehow?

And holy cow, that's a CRAZY amount of steps! Would be hard for me to do that (I'm an elementary school teacher) but I'm getting a solid 14-15k a day?



Heard on the shoulders; so far they are okay? The squats and lunges are definitely making my knees creak, but maybe they will loosen up:)

Yeah, I thought I was doing a different dip than you said. Interesting about the leaning thing!

I'll look at the shoulder tap! That's interesting, don't know anything about it.

And looking at different pull up bars on Amazon.


Guys, I really REALLY appreciate the advice. If you have any other specifics in terms of the push/pull days I'd hugely appreciate it!


OH! And someone recommended creatine gummies? They said they help physically, and they really felt they helped mentally as well? I thought I'd give them a try:)
Click to expand...
If you're getting 15k steps a day, you don't need to worry about when you get them. That's plenty. If you don't have a lot of equipment, I recommend that you follow kneesovertoesguy on youtube. He has a lot of really good lower body plans for strength and rehab. I'd also find a good calisthenics follow. There are guys and gals (read with best Sarah Palin voice) out there that have incredible physiques and are insanely healthy and they never lift a weight. I've considered moving from traditional weighted workouts to more calisthenics but I fear my overall lack of flexibility will hinder my efforts (maybe that's a reason to do it?).

I'd also say to make sure your diet is in check. It's really not that hard. I have a protein shake every single morning. Typically that shake is made with frozen blueberries and strawberries or cherries, half cup of uncooked oatmeal, serving of psyllium husk fiber, serving of creatine, serving of protein powder and milk of your choice (been using soy recently). If I want more calories, I'll add a serving of Greek yogurt to it. I mix it up in a good blender and drink it while watching/reading the morning news. Takes 15 minutes from freezer to my belly. That gets me off to a good start. I'll eat the same thing for lunch for the whole week. I'll meal prep it on Sunday. It's usually high protein. This week I am eating turkey meatballs (bought frozen) with egg noodles. I made a beef stroganoff sauce from a McCormick packet and added it to the mix. Total time to make enough for the week was about 25 minutes and most of that was waiting for water to boil. Then a reasonable dinner. When you eat the same thing every morning and most afternoons, you don't even have to think about it. Get lots of water and watch for hidden sugars and calories in liquid form.
 
nmduke2001 said:
If you're getting 15k steps a day, you don't need to worry about when you get them. That's plenty. If you don't have a lot of equipment, I recommend that you follow kneesovertoesguy on youtube. He has a lot of really good lower body plans for strength and rehab. I'd also find a good calisthenics follow. There are guys and gals (read with best Sarah Palin voice) out there that have incredible physiques and are insanely healthy and they never lift a weight. I've considered moving from traditional weighted workouts to more calisthenics but I fear my overall lack of flexibility will hinder my efforts (maybe that's a reason to do it?).

I'd also say to make sure your diet is in check. It's really not that hard. I have a protein shake every single morning. Typically that shake is made with frozen blueberries and strawberries or cherries, half cup of uncooked oatmeal, serving of psyllium husk fiber, serving of creatine, serving of protein powder and milk of your choice (been using soy recently). If I want more calories, I'll add a serving of Greek yogurt to it. I mix it up in a good blender and drink it while watching/reading the morning news. Takes 15 minutes from freezer to my belly. That gets me off to a good start. I'll eat the same thing for lunch for the whole week. I'll meal prep it on Sunday. It's usually high protein. This week I am eating turkey meatballs (bought frozen) with egg noodles. I made a beef stroganoff sauce from a McCormick packet and added it to the mix. Total time to make enough for the week was about 25 minutes and most of that was waiting for water to boil. Then a reasonable dinner. When you eat the same thing every morning and most afternoons, you don't even have to think about it. Get lots of water and watch for hidden sugars and calories in liquid form.
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I love this post but also laughed at “it’s not that hard” followed by a novel on how to make a smoothie.

I hope you take this comment with the good humor in which it was intended
 
Count me among the smoothie advocates. Using a smoothie for a meal several days a week helps manage my calorie count and gives my body a nutritional baseline of key ingredients. It also makes a nice recovery meal after hard workouts.

For me, it is just a list of ingredients (greens, berries, nuts / seeds, Greek yogurt, etc) thrown into a Vitamix blender in a particular order, with a few variations to keep it interesting. Only real trick is to make sure you add the right balance of protein and good fats to counter the carbs, to keep from spiking blood sugar, and to feel sated for longer.
 
bundabergdevil said:
I initially wanted to work out every day in January. Hit that and now I’ve officially hit 50 days in a row. My worst days have been 20-30 minute quickies but that’s only been 6, according to my calendar. Everything else has been pretty tough.

100 straight is my next goal!
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Oof. Biggest obstacle yet. Lifted yesterday then three hours later threw out my back putting toilet paper in the grocery cart.

Could barely get myself out of bed this morning. Loosening a bit with heat. Hoping to be able to at least walk on a flat surface later.
 
bundabergdevil said:
Oof. Biggest obstacle yet. Lifted yesterday then three hours later threw out my back putting toilet paper in the grocery cart.

Could barely get myself out of bed this morning. Loosening a bit with heat. Hoping to be able to at least walk on a flat surface later.
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Sorry to hear.

The worst I’ve ever hurt my back was sneezing on the way back from getting the mail. Literally had to crawl back to the house.
 
Still doing the no sugar/carb thing. Just meat and green veggies. I only eat 2 meals a day. About 10 years ago I started cutting out breakfast. I found that eating 3 meals a day made me incredibly sluggish. Just felt full all day.

Now I try to lift in the morning as early as possible. Usually between 530-900 before eating anything. I generally eat sometime between 1000-1200.

I do bench and triceps twice a week and shoulders and biceps twice a week. I try to get 20k steps a day. The gf situation eats into that some. She likes to lay in bed and cuddle. With me. And I look like a thumb.
 
ClemmonsDevil said:
Still doing the no sugar/carb thing. Just meat and green veggies. I only eat 2 meals a day. About 10 years ago I started cutting out breakfast. I found that eating 3 meals a day made me incredibly sluggish. Just felt full all day.

Now I try to lift in the morning as early as possible. Usually between 530-900 before eating anything. I generally eat sometime between 1000-1200.

I do bench and triceps twice a week and shoulders and biceps twice a week. I try to get 20k steps a day. The gf situation eats into that some. She likes to lay in bed and cuddle. With me. And I look like a thumb.
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You skipping leg day, bruh?
 
bundabergdevil said:
Oof. Biggest obstacle yet. Lifted yesterday then three hours later threw out my back putting toilet paper in the grocery cart.

Could barely get myself out of bed this morning. Loosening a bit with heat. Hoping to be able to at least walk on a flat surface later.
Click to expand...
My back is my trouble spot too and yoga, both restorative and preventative, has been really helpful. Not many workouts for me these days that don’t include like 10 minutes of back & core stretching.
 
Got my first single track ride of the season in today. (My knees don't tolerate cold biking, and "cold" means anything below 60F.)

Felt great but I took it easy up the longer climbs. My Garmin recorded 11 miles and 1138 ft elevation gain.

Despite my best efforts, I'll probably wake up with leg cramps tonight.

-jk
 
Hi all!

Thought I would check back in!

Been working out every morning at 6:00 or so, for about 35-40 minutes. I have a simple workout now, but a good friend is an exercise guru, and she agreed to do a whole workout program for me. Scared, bc she is intense, but looking forward to it.

Have also been walking several miles a day. Keeping about a 15:30/mile pace. Wearing a weighted vest, 10lbs, to keep the heart rate up.

When the workouts get… well, worked out… I’ll share them!

One thing… getting hernia surgery on Friday, so going to be out of commission for… I don’t know, a little while. Boo.

Thanks, everyone, for the advice! Really appreciate it:)
 
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