The Official Exercise/Fitness Thread v. Run Forest, Run!

[King Postwhore]

I'm going back after vacation. I've lost so much muscle mass with the weight loss so I'm working on high reps, low weight to tone.

[wolfking]

Wait....why isn't your ass in the gym?  Hope you're still going.

Yup.

Tomorrow starts my 4th week. I've been going Mon-Thurs for an hour. Been doing some free weights, but the machines give me more stability. I can't believe how much strength I've lost in the last ten years. I also have an impingement in my right shoulder that makes stability even more of a challenge.

I saw a doctor on Thursday and she said to add some cardio, so on Friday morning while my wife was in a zumba class, I did the treadmill. (It was her birthday and we both took the day off).

Not an earth shattering pace or distance, but I worked up a sweat for over an hour. Plus, I basically watched an entire Theocracy concert on youtube right on the treadmill's screen..


 



So I'll be adding some treadmill to my visits this week.

 

That speed at a little incline is a nice workout mate, especially for an hour, that's good stuff.

I'd always recommend just what you are doing and go for more assisted machines over free weights until you get more comfortable and get some stability back.  Sucks about your shoulder too but just do what you can and work around it.  It is insane how quick your strength goes over a short amount of time.

[wolfking]

I'm going back after vacation. I've lost so much muscle mass with the weight loss so I'm working on high reps, low weight to tone.

I love high rep sets, so beneficial.  You may have lost a little muscle mate but the positives far outweigh that.  Over time the more weights you do combined with keeping your protein high, things should stabilise.

[King Postwhore]

Oh I know. I want to keep the momentum going. I was big into weights in my mid to late 20's. I weight 240. 19" biceps,  neck and calves. I was solid as a rock. Not defined but I was a bull.

Now I just want to keep trim and tone.

[TAC]

I'd always recommend just what you are doing and go for more assisted machines over free weights until you get more comfortable and get some stability back.  Sucks about your shoulder too but just do what you can and work around it.  It is insane how quick your strength goes over a short amount of time.

There's a number of exercises that I can use free weights for, so I try and use them when I can.


I used to regularly lift in my basement, but for the last 10 years at least, my job was very physical every day, so I really didn't have the drive or energy really to come home and work out. A year and a half ago, I switched to a much less physically demanding job so...now's a good time as any to start working my way back.

Last week, I did try and increase my weight, even if it meant less reps. But I know reps is where it's at, but just trying to push the weight a little here and there.

[King Postwhore]

It's good to change routines to ahock the muscles. The sane repetition is not good to build muscle. 

[wolfking]

I'd always recommend just what you are doing and go for more assisted machines over free weights until you get more comfortable and get some stability back.  Sucks about your shoulder too but just do what you can and work around it.  It is insane how quick your strength goes over a short amount of time.

There's a number of exercises that I can use free weights for, so I try and use them when I can.


I used to regularly lift in my basement, but for the last 10 years at least, my job was very physical every day, so I really didn't have the drive or energy really to come home and work out. A year and a half ago, I switched to a much less physically demanding job so...now's a good time as any to start working my way back.

Last week, I did try and increase my weight, even if it meant less reps. But I know reps is where it's at, but just trying to push the weight a little here and there.

High reps is awesome and has its place but increasing the weight and trying to push more for strength is also vital.  I usually try and combined the two. 

I'll add high rep sets, drop sets, rest pause sets, and low rep higher weight sets.  Basically whatever you can do fatigue the muscle, push and get stronger is key.

With higher weights, people normally are more prone to injury as they'll try and lift more than they probably should and their form goes out the window, leading to injuries.  That's where the higher reps you can get similar results just with less compromise on form.

[TAC]

Believe me, my increase in weight was....modest.

[wolfking]

Believe me, my increase in weight was....modest.

An increase is an increase.  Don't discount yourself mate, it takes time.

[jingle.boy]

I can't believe how much strength I've lost in the last ten years.

Shit... I can't believe how much I've lost of the past 1 year.  I did an 8-minute Tabata-style bodyweight workout yesterday before getting on the bike - just pushups, burpees, squats, and mountain climbers.  And now I'm pretty fucking achy.  I used to be able to hammer out 50 pushups straight; yesterday, I barely got to 30 in total.

One step at a time though.

[wolfking]

I can't believe how much strength I've lost in the last ten years.

Shit... I can't believe how much I've lost of the past 1 year.  I did an 8-minute Tabata-style bodyweight workout yesterday before getting on the bike - just pushups, burpees, squats, and mountain climbers.  And now I'm pretty fucking achy.  I used to be able to hammer out 50 pushups straight; yesterday, I barely got to 30 in total.

One step at a time though.

At least you're getting back into it mate. 

[Harmony]

So it was time to switch up my lifting routine and I decided to try an exercise band routine for my full body set.  It looked pretty doable and we have bands of all colors/strengths.  How hard could it be, right?

Guys, I can barely walk today.  Or lift my arms.  Going up stairs is like watching a Tim Conway Oldest Man skit.  Holy shit who would've thought bands would give me a much harder workout than my dumbbells? 

[wolfking]

It's probably not because it's 'harder' than dumbbells, it's probably because it's something totally new to you and your body. Any change in routine like that will see the body struggling to adjust.  You probably just got used to your normal routine and needed the change up.  I'm not trying to underplay the bands though, I've heard you can get some good workouts out of them.

[SchecterShredder]

Bands will bring lots of smaller stabilizing tendons into the exercise. These likely never get used, or at least underused, with dumbbells. It would be worse if you went from only barbells to bands. You'd be incapacitated lol

[Evermind]

My next (and I think final) race for this season is another half-marathon in my city in two weeks. I don't think I'll be able to improve much in terms of running, but now that I'm on vacation, I'll just try to approach it well-rested, get enough sleep, and start even slower. While my goal to run a 21.1k in less (fewer?) than two hours remains, I think for now I'll settle on running the full distance without walking/stopping. I think I may start even slower and aim for 6:06/km during the first 10k with the pacemakers depending on how I feel. Unfortunately, this race is also in August and it also follows the biggest river in our city.

And done. My only goal today was not to resort to walking and I ran the whole thing at easy pace. No post on Strava as GPS doesn't quite work in the center of Moscow (it shows I ran 7,9km).

Aimed for 6:06/km and just kept it for the whole distance and honestly I'm pretty happy with this. I had a blast during the run, much more fun than two weeks ago.
 
Official result:



Next year I'll probably try for that under 2 hours goal.

[wolfking]

Nice one mate! 

[Harmony]

Bands will bring lots of smaller stabilizing tendons into the exercise. These likely never get used, or at least underused, with dumbbells. It would be worse if you went from only barbells to bands. You'd be incapacitated lol

I pretty much was for about 48 hours.  And thanks for this - that makes a lot of sense and now I'm going to incorporate more bands into my workouts for this very reason.

[SchecterShredder]

Super long update incoming......




Back in March, as XC ski season was winding down, I decided to prioritize strength training more. Over the last several years I was so focused on cardio due to my favorite hobby being cycling, that my strength was really starting to suffer. Part of my motivation was esthetics, I will confess, but the primary motivation was to prevent muscle loss as I ventured into my 40s this year. I've done strength training for about 25 years, so I have enough knowledge that I could have just built a program. However, I figured it would be easier to adhere to if I just bought a stock program from someone so I could just look at the day's workout and be off to it. Before I get into the 2 programs I've done (well, in progress on the 2nd one), I'll explain the periodization required because of my schedule.

Shoulder season (i.e. between XC ski season and MTB/Road bike season): 4 day per week strength session; 1 or 2 day per week cardio - usually just my commutes to work on the bicycle

Summer season: 3 day per week strength; 2 or 3 day per week cardio - including my commute days

The reduction in cycling was tough at first, but I enjoy exercising in general. It wasn't long before I started getting really excited about the lifting sessions. I'm sure my DTF Strava connections have noticed the significant reduction in my cycling. I haven't even gone for a single 100km+ ride this season, and I usually knock off at least one per month.


The first program I tried was from a Canadian YouTube influencer named Jeff Nippard. I like his YouTube channel because he's one of the influencers in the "fitness science" space, so it's a lot more informative. It was really his videos that came to me from the Algorithm Overlord that got me the initial motivation. I bought his high frequency total body program which came with a tracking spreadsheet (a nice touch since I'm an Excel super user....I've already greatly enhanced the version he sent me so I can recycle it), and a great PDF explaining the science behind how the program was developed. There's a list of all the exercises with links to youtube videos showing how to do them. I didn't need the videos, but still nice to have. He also included a list of exercises that can be subbed in if you don't have the necessary equipment. That was a great resource considering I have a home gym setup. It's a nicely equipped home gym, but a home gym nevertheless

I did 1 full 10 week program of  4x per week, and then followed up with a full 3x as cycling season kicked off. I basically just modified the 4x program to remove one of the leg intensive days, then scattered some of the more important exercises from that day to the other 3 days. It ended up being about 85% of the 4x program. The program was mix of body building and power lifting phases.

At the same time, I also decided to tighten my nutrition a little. I didn't need to do much since I already eat very healthy, but I did need to cut back on peanut butter and nutella snacking. We have both on hand for the kids, and I would find myself shoving spoonful after spoonful of it down my gullet right before bed. Just cutting that and starting the program had immediate results. I was able to shed about 6lbs of overall weight, but I'm leaner and stronger so it was probably a 10lb fat loss and 5lb muscle gain or something like that (note: numbers completely made up).

Went on vacation for 2 weeks after the end of the 2nd round of the program (the 3x), crashed my bike a bunch of times in the mountains, meaning I couldn't lift for a good 5 or 6 weeks until the pain in my hips were gone.

Once I was able to do squats and deadlifts again, I decided to switch up the program. I had already purchased Jeff Cavaliere's (Athlean X) Total Beast program prior to vacation. I wanted to do something different that wasn't so much on the body building side. I prefer more functional fitness than just nice looking muscles. I'm currently 4 weeks in, and it's been good. In some ways it's harder than the Jeff Nippard program in that there's cardio lifting elements included (super sets, ladders, etc.). The Nippard program went so far as to prescribe only walking for cardio, which I clearly did not follow lol. I've also found that I'm more sore after the sessions than I was in the 3 or 4x program from Nippard. Other than some of the big lifts (squats, dead, bench), there isn't nearly as much overlap as I thought there would be. I'm looking forward to seeing what my results look like when I finish the program.

My only concern, as I've shifted towards more strength training, is whether or not my XC skiing will suffer. I haven't noticed a big drop in my cycling, however, I haven't been on my road bike much this year to test that out. The trail bike is my weapon of choice, and it's been horribly hot and dry this year. The mtb trails have been fantastic. XC skiing is far more demanding on the heart and lungs, so I'm curious if increased strength in my shoulders, arms, back, and legs will offset any loss of cardio.

[wolfking]

Lots to chew on there Rich.  I'll share some replies later today.......I have to get up now for a run, even though my legs feel broken with no days off. 

The suffering of the strength sessions because of the cardiovascular choice love is all too real.  I definitely feel you there.

[jingle.boy]

I've made it no secret I am a big fan of A-X, and I did follow a Nippard for quite a while too - bought one of his books, iirc.  Lots of great advice from him.  I own quite a few of the A-X programs, including the entire NXT series - but never worked out to any of them since I was paying for them in the time I was off the bandwagon.  Funny enough, I went to cancel them, but I only had one more payment/program to make, and then I get to keep the entire thing ... so I just let it run it's course.  It's pretty cool now that he has a monthly subscription - something like $15/mo and you get access to ALL of his programs.  That's a pretty sweet deal, considering each of his programs were around $30 price tag.

Rich ... I really got a ton of benefit out of Max Size and Max Shred ... maybe that's something you want to look at?  The Max Shred has a lot of HIIT.  Usually around US Thanksgiving or Christmas I've seen him offer them as in a buy 1, get 1 free (maybe 1/2 off??) promo.

My re-start of exercising back in August was a false-start - don't really want to get into the why's of that.  But, I've gotten on the bike again this week (along with mrs.jingle getting on the treadmill) to try and wean myself back in to things.  I'm hoping I can get myself into a space where I start lifting again in a couple of months.  We'll see how it goes. 

[ReaperKK]

How long are you on the bike for jingle?

[jingle.boy]

45-60 minutes.  Depends on what we're watching on TV.

[wolfking]

Going back to Rich's post, I to am one that has really found it difficult to balance the cardio and strength training.  I usually go mostly by feel though.  Once I start to feel fatigue and a slight loss in strength in the gym, I know it's time to put the energy back into the weights more.  Currently I'm trying to put as much effort into each, almost hybrid training I guess? 

I've heard the name Jeff Nippard but never checked him out so will have to youtube him.  I confess though.....I've never followed a program.  I guess my gym sessions have also followed a bodybuilding approach with focusing on a different muscle group each time and just know the exercise and go from there and try and increase the strength and work on progressive overload.  My sessions are usually based like;

Chest - Press movements, pushups, dips and triceps
Back - Rowing movements, pullups, bieps
Legs - Deadlifts, leg press, some form of squat and lunges
Shoulders/Chest - Press movements, some isolation work, pushups, dips, some arms thrown in.

A few abs most days too.  That's it, a lot of compound movements and supersets with arms and whatnot.

I'm interested to hear your final thoughts on both programs and what you'll think you'll do to try and balance everything in the future.

At the same time, I also decided to tighten my nutrition a little. I didn't need to do much since I already eat very healthy, but I did need to cut back on peanut butter and nutella snacking. We have both on hand for the kids, and I would find myself shoving spoonful after spoonful of it down my gullet right before bed. Just cutting that and starting the program had immediate results. I was able to shed about 6lbs of overall weight, but I'm leaner and stronger so it was probably a 10lb fat loss and 5lb muscle gain or something like that (note: numbers completely made up).

I'm glad I'm not the only one who does this.  Except I don't have kids, I buy it for myself!  It's incredible how a few spoonfuls equates to hundreds of calories.  It's so hard not to grab a spoon and have a few scoops before going to bed.  I do this with ice cream too........I'm trying to cut that back though and just keep it for my oats and weekends splurges.  Are you following any numbers in regards to your nutrition? 

For me though, it's daily runs but at the moment it's more of the mental thing.  it's like a ritual to go out in the morning for a run to get ready for my day.  I'm weight training 5-6 days a week along with 60-80km of running.  It's hard going and tricky to balance correctly.

[wolfking]

Hey Rich, in answer to your Strava question, not quite relocating.  I'll explain more here later when I'm home.

[wolfking]

Hey Rich, in answer to your Strava question, not quite relocating.  I'll explain more here later when I'm home.

Going back to this for Rich;

In my job for the past many years I've worked across a few centres.  Where I really got into running was at this one particular suburb where one of the pools are.  I worked there most of my time and operated the pool myself each morning for the opens.  I used to get there super early around 4:30am, do all the cleaning and then go for a run, head back, shower and get ready then open to the public at 7am.  It became my little habit and routine for the last few years in the summer.  Flat track, nice loop which can be 5-6km or can easily make it a 10km+ course.

Anyway, for a variety of reasons and changes in the workplace, staffing mainly has been the biggest issue and the Organisation decided a few weeks back the only way to operate the venue practically this summer (ie. me not working 80 hours a week) was to lease it out to an external company for the summer.  So, that happened a couple of weeks back and basically had to clean my office out and move all my stuff out.  I'm down to one pool now which I'm actually okay with for the moment.  For once I'm starting to work hours and the workload is more in line with my pay rate so looking at all things positive.

So, basically that's the story.  Could of course go and run there anytime but it was such a part of me and my routine, I think a clean break is best for now.  Not running there is making me hit more elevation in other areas which is probably a good thing for my training.

[SchecterShredder]

Well, hopefully the change works out for you Kade. Being able to get your workouts done in a manner that works nicely with your work schedule is A-plus for this guy.

I'm mulling a change in employment which would relocate me to another tower downtown. You'd be amazed how much weight I put into cycling facilities when deciding whether to take a job. I'm fortunate in my current location to have access to a secure underground bike parking area, locker rooms with showers and free towels (and all necessary grooming products), free day use lockers, or long-term rental lockers which I pay for so I can keep my entire work wardrobe at the tower. There's also a drop off dry cleaning service right beside the lockers. There's a few other towers downtown that have these type of facilities, but not many. I don't think I'd even consider a position if I couldn't cycle to work. Now that I'm prioritizing my strength training the morning commute is just about all the cardio I'm getting.

[wolfking]

Well, hopefully the change works out for you Kade. Being able to get your workouts done in a manner that works nicely with your work schedule is A-plus for this guy.

I'm mulling a change in employment which would relocate me to another tower downtown. You'd be amazed how much weight I put into cycling facilities when deciding whether to take a job. I'm fortunate in my current location to have access to a secure underground bike parking area, locker rooms with showers and free towels (and all necessary grooming products), free day use lockers, or long-term rental lockers which I pay for so I can keep my entire work wardrobe at the tower. There's also a drop off dry cleaning service right beside the lockers. There's a few other towers downtown that have these type of facilities, but not many. I don't think I'd even consider a position if I couldn't cycle to work. Now that I'm prioritizing my strength training the morning commute is just about all the cardio I'm getting.

Sounds like a great setup Rich.  And no, I'm learning through experience that sorting a job that fits to your fitness routine is critical and is becoming that way for me.  While I'm running more around home and other areas which aren't as nice in flat terrain, the reduced workload means getting up slightly later, not rushing my run and then being able to leave work at 4pm to go and hit the weights.  Selfishly, my exercise routine and well being is priorty now.  Took me a while but I've figured it out so I don't blame you weighing up the logistics behind everything else around the actual job.  Plus, if both of us have the ability to make those decisions that best suit us, then that's an A+ just like you said.

I think with your potential situation, you'd need to weigh up, even write down pros and cons and make sure benefits of the work relocation outweigh the setup you have for your biking.  If it doesn't, I wouldn't feel silly staying where you are.

[Evermind]

Sounds like a great setup Rich.  And no, I'm learning through experience that sorting a job that fits to your fitness routine is critical and is becoming that way for me.  While I'm running more around home and other areas which aren't as nice in flat terrain, the reduced workload means getting up slightly later, not rushing my run and then being able to leave work at 4pm to go and hit the weights.  Selfishly, my exercise routine and well being is priorty now.  Took me a while but I've figured it out so I don't blame you weighing up the logistics behind everything else around the actual job.  Plus, if both of us have the ability to make those decisions that best suit us, then that's an A+ just like you said.

I think with your potential situation, you'd need to weigh up, even write down pros and cons and make sure benefits of the work relocation outweigh the setup you have for your biking.  If it doesn't, I wouldn't feel silly staying where you are.

While I'm somewhat in the same position, this is not selfish, ideally that's how it should be. I refused to work a couple of weekends overtime this year because I needed to do a long run for the half-marathon prep. Work comes and goes—and of course you should find some compromises, you've got to get money from somewhere—but overall your/our well-being should be a priority as far as I'm concerned.

Finally bought a running watch as I really need to work on the pace consistency and train in proper pulse zones for the longer runs this upcoming season (starting pretty much now). I'm not that old but I still had quite a difficult time setting it all up. I thought I was set, went for a short test run this morning and found out it showed everything in miles instead of kilometers. Had to even stop for a couple of minutes and figure out how to change it.

I should probably also do some cross-training until I can go cycling in spring again—any advice from you guys? Looking at swimming in the pool/cycling in the gym once or twice a week, but no idea where to begin regarding exercise length/how hard to go. Perhaps some light strength training while I'm at it? I could go read some guides but like Tim, I've got DTF for that.

Also not really related but I'm participating in a table tennis tournament at work tomorrow.

[SchecterShredder]

Ideally, you'd aim to do activities in your off season that use different muscles than your primary sport with the goal of preventing overuse injuries. If you're looking for cardio replacement, then swimming and cycling are good options. Cycling will engage some of the same muscles as running, but it's far less quad intensive. Strength training is always a good idea.

As for length/intensity.... well, that depends on your goals. As they say, practice how you want to play.

[wolfking]

I think strength training is almost a must Ruslan.  I know it's not for everyone buy it can work and coincide with running really well.  Building more strength in your legs is always going to be a benefit too. 

Swimming is a different beast and good work for the upper body and also works your cardiovascular system differently.  Start off slow and not too much volume.

I'm not really a biking guy at all but imagine it would be good for recovery after runs?

[Evermind]

Update after my previous post: signed up to the gym that opened right before the New Year ~10 minutes away from my home using the holidays/New Year discount which is apparently a thing in every gym ever.  Went for an introductory training session today where they showed me how to use some of the equipment. I'll probably sign up for some group training to see how the rest of the stuff works (there's a lot of it)—they've got a group training schedule for the different types of muscles.

Strength training for legs/hips - really nice (duh). Strength training for the upper body - sucks because I've never really trained it will have to slowly build it up. We'll see how the work goes but my current plan is to go twice a week.

Tried running on treadmill and that sucks big time Maybe I'm just not used to it but I can't imagine doing it unless it's absolutely freezing outside or unless it's raining heavily. I'm too used to run around the city and basically the most entertaining part is to see what's around me. None of that on the treadmill.

Didn't get to try any cycling equipment but planning to hit it this Sunday and use it to recover after longer runs.

Really fun experience overall. Running-wise, slowly building my base back (also it seems like the cold will finally let up tomorrow, it was ridiculously cold here last week) and excited for the gym now. Next half-marathon is on April 29th. The goal is still to run it out of 2 hours. We'll see how it goes.

[gmillerdrake]

Tried running on treadmill and that sucks big time Maybe I'm just not used to it but I can't imagine doing it unless it's absolutely freezing outside or unless it's raining heavily. I'm too used to run around the city and basically the most entertaining part is to see what's around me. None of that on the treadmill.

Treadmill running sucks, plain and simple, especially when your accustomed to running outside. I run a couple days a week and unless it's just ice covered roads I'll run in 10 degrees before I run on the treadmill. But I do like a good 45 stair master workout. That'll get the heart pumping and sweat dripping.

 


I have three more weeks to go in this family 'weight loss' challenge that we started back in october. I'm in the lead and looking like I'm gonna win the $350 that's at stake. Down 19lbs for a 9.85% percentage of loss at this point. I'm 1lb away from my goal of dropping 20lbs. It's the same 20lbs that I've lost and gained back about four or five times now here after I entered my 40's. I eat well and stay motivated during these little competitions and get my weight down to around 165-170 (I'm 5'-6") Then, fall off the wagon so to speak and put the 20lbs back on over a year or two. I started this competition at 193.9....so, I was looking to get back down to 173ish...last weeks weigh in I was at 174.4 so I'll probably end up right at 170 again.

Even with playing anywhere from 2-4 ice hockey games on Sunday/Monday nights....and running a day or two during the week....my body has just changed so much now where that exercise doesn't really stave off the poor eating choices any longer. It hasn't for some time. I turn 48 at the end of the month on the 26th (last day of the competition) and I guess I just really need to make an adjustment on what I'm eating moving forward and that really sucks because well....all the food that isn't good for you tastes really good!!! 

Anyway, gotta hammer out these next couple weeks and stay in the lead. My bro in law decided to hit it hard on the last weigh in and now he's around the 4% mark...but he has a LOT of weight to lose so I could see him making a charge here at the end if he really goes for it.

[jingle.boy]

Just stepped on a scale today, and I'm over 200lbs for the first time in about 8 years.  Gotta find the motivation to change.  I'm starting with my eating habits first.  If/when I can get those under control, then I'll work my way back into exercising.

[wolfking]

Update after my previous post: signed up to the gym that opened right before the New Year ~10 minutes away from my home using the holidays/New Year discount which is apparently a thing in every gym ever.  Went for an introductory training session today where they showed me how to use some of the equipment. I'll probably sign up for some group training to see how the rest of the stuff works (there's a lot of it)—they've got a group training schedule for the different types of muscles.

Strength training for legs/hips - really nice (duh). Strength training for the upper body - sucks because I've never really trained it will have to slowly build it up. We'll see how the work goes but my current plan is to go twice a week.

Tried running on treadmill and that sucks big time Maybe I'm just not used to it but I can't imagine doing it unless it's absolutely freezing outside or unless it's raining heavily. I'm too used to run around the city and basically the most entertaining part is to see what's around me. None of that on the treadmill.

Didn't get to try any cycling equipment but planning to hit it this Sunday and use it to recover after longer runs.

Really fun experience overall. Running-wise, slowly building my base back (also it seems like the cold will finally let up tomorrow, it was ridiculously cold here last week) and excited for the gym now. Next half-marathon is on April 29th. The goal is still to run it out of 2 hours. We'll see how it goes.

ummm......wut?? 

Good stuff though mate.  For you, especially since you're just a beginner with the strength stuff, you really just need to focus on compound movements and build them up from there.  Chest press (dumbbell or barbell), some rows and pulldowns, some military presses and if you can, basic push ups and pull ups.  Don't get too weighed down with all the fancy shit, build a base and try and work on progressive overload.  For legs, some squats and lunges is fine.  Deadlifts once you get a little more into it also.  You can also throw some arm in work and core work in there aswell to break it up.

I honestly don't know how the fuck you are running outside in those temps, I find it incredible.  Running on the treadmill I don't mind, but it's definitely a different beast.  I think you either like it or you don't.

[wolfking]

Tried running on treadmill and that sucks big time Maybe I'm just not used to it but I can't imagine doing it unless it's absolutely freezing outside or unless it's raining heavily. I'm too used to run around the city and basically the most entertaining part is to see what's around me. None of that on the treadmill.

Treadmill running sucks, plain and simple, especially when your accustomed to running outside. I run a couple days a week and unless it's just ice covered roads I'll run in 10 degrees before I run on the treadmill. But I do like a good 45 stair master workout. That'll get the heart pumping and sweat dripping.

 


I have three more weeks to go in this family 'weight loss' challenge that we started back in october. I'm in the lead and looking like I'm gonna win the $350 that's at stake. Down 19lbs for a 9.85% percentage of loss at this point. I'm 1lb away from my goal of dropping 20lbs. It's the same 20lbs that I've lost and gained back about four or five times now here after I entered my 40's. I eat well and stay motivated during these little competitions and get my weight down to around 165-170 (I'm 5'-6") Then, fall off the wagon so to speak and put the 20lbs back on over a year or two. I started this competition at 193.9....so, I was looking to get back down to 173ish...last weeks weigh in I was at 174.4 so I'll probably end up right at 170 again.

Even with playing anywhere from 2-4 ice hockey games on Sunday/Monday nights....and running a day or two during the week....my body has just changed so much now where that exercise doesn't really stave off the poor eating choices any longer. It hasn't for some time. I turn 48 at the end of the month on the 26th (last day of the competition) and I guess I just really need to make an adjustment on what I'm eating moving forward and that really sucks because well....all the food that isn't good for you tastes really good!!! 

Anyway, gotta hammer out these next couple weeks and stay in the lead. My bro in law decided to hit it hard on the last weigh in and now he's around the 4% mark...but he has a LOT of weight to lose so I could see him making a charge here at the end if he really goes for it.

Take it out mate!  19 pounds is a great effort too.  Diet is the hardest by far, still my nemesis.