Author Topic: Strength & Fitness 2017  (Read 172614 times)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #350 on: February 05, 2017, 05:06:11 PM »
Love that giant board that says "YES!" Braken_Joy.  Pretty cool motivation.

Glad my photo shop skills are on point ;) Sadly, it doesn't actually exist. Instead it's a big utility sign of what to do in a power outage, and thus reveals where I live. I want to get an actual "YES" though, that would be way cooler.

TightFistedScot

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #351 on: February 06, 2017, 08:01:31 AM »
I had to search it out, but I found the picture I posted of our home gym. We've added another set of bumper plates since then, and swapped the small speakers for a bigger speaker/amp set up. Also added a white board on the back wall. I'll re-take a photo at some point, but not right now =) Hmm, we also added a rack with a speed rope and some elastic bands on the back wall... okay, I really do need to take a new photo sometime!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/roughest-mustachian-on-the-nicest-block/msg1216817/#msg1216817
Also! Forgot to post my home gym as previously requested.



That is one badass squat rack! I wonder how much weight it could hold? Any ideas?

I guess it just serves people of a very specific rack height. Do you also have a rack for benching? Or is there another cut-out in the wood to rack the barbell at your bench rack height?

brute

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #352 on: February 06, 2017, 08:12:30 AM »
I had to search it out, but I found the picture I posted of our home gym. We've added another set of bumper plates since then, and swapped the small speakers for a bigger speaker/amp set up. Also added a white board on the back wall. I'll re-take a photo at some point, but not right now =) Hmm, we also added a rack with a speed rope and some elastic bands on the back wall... okay, I really do need to take a new photo sometime!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/roughest-mustachian-on-the-nicest-block/msg1216817/#msg1216817
Also! Forgot to post my home gym as previously requested.



Nice rack! I keep looking for bumper plates at a reasonable cost, but nothing yet. I'm hoping one of the 39 crossfit boxes in a 10 minute radius from me will go out of business so I can grab some for cheap.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #353 on: February 06, 2017, 08:35:36 AM »
I had to search it out, but I found the picture I posted of our home gym. We've added another set of bumper plates since then, and swapped the small speakers for a bigger speaker/amp set up. Also added a white board on the back wall. I'll re-take a photo at some point, but not right now =) Hmm, we also added a rack with a speed rope and some elastic bands on the back wall... okay, I really do need to take a new photo sometime!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/roughest-mustachian-on-the-nicest-block/msg1216817/#msg1216817
Also! Forgot to post my home gym as previously requested.



That is one badass squat rack! I wonder how much weight it could hold? Any ideas?

I guess it just serves people of a very specific rack height. Do you also have a rack for benching? Or is there another cut-out in the wood to rack the barbell at your bench rack height?

Why thank you. DH has put up 405lbs on the rack, pretty often. (that was as high as we could go with the first set of weights, lol. He does 405 for yoke walks). We built it Fall of 2015. Height is pretty specific, but luckily DH and I are about the same height (he's actually 2" shorter, but I just duck under a bit further for my squats). Our 6'2" friend who would workout with us when we lived in Portland looked quite silly trying to use it. We do *not* have a seperate cutout for bench height. Although my BIL bought us a bench for Xmas (gift to himself lol, he uses the gym sometimes), so we're going to build either an add on or a separate rack set for that. Just haven't yet. So far, we just do overhead work and skip the bench, lol.

I had to search it out, but I found the picture I posted of our home gym. We've added another set of bumper plates since then, and swapped the small speakers for a bigger speaker/amp set up. Also added a white board on the back wall. I'll re-take a photo at some point, but not right now =) Hmm, we also added a rack with a speed rope and some elastic bands on the back wall... okay, I really do need to take a new photo sometime!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/roughest-mustachian-on-the-nicest-block/msg1216817/#msg1216817
Also! Forgot to post my home gym as previously requested.



Nice rack! I keep looking for bumper plates at a reasonable cost, but nothing yet. I'm hoping one of the 39 crossfit boxes in a 10 minute radius from me will go out of business so I can grab some for cheap.

Thank you! Lol. Our first bumper plate set we got through Wright. The second was through Again Faster. Wright we got during the crossfit games sale in 2015, when shipping was free. Again Faster we got on Black Friday this year, again free shipping. They never go on a big sale, but if you buy the sets they work out to the best price, and the biggest thing is getting the free shipping deals- otherwise it's like $75-150 to ship it to Oregon from Ohio or wherever they all are, haha.

We were hoping for a crossfit box closeout. We had originally tried to see if we could order through them at warehouse pricing, since I have a friend who she and her husband own a box, but they were prepping for regionals and she was on nights, so that fell through and we got tired of waiting.

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #354 on: February 06, 2017, 09:16:32 AM »
We were hoping for a crossfit box closeout. We had originally tried to see if we could order through them at warehouse pricing, since I have a friend who she and her husband own a box, but they were prepping for regionals and she was on nights, so that fell through and we got tired of waiting.

I knew there was something relevant here. Is this the kind of box you are referring to? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/27/nicer-legs-and-some-new-carpentry-skills-for-only-15-bucks/

Cromacster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #355 on: February 06, 2017, 09:21:08 AM »
We were hoping for a crossfit box closeout. We had originally tried to see if we could order through them at warehouse pricing, since I have a friend who she and her husband own a box, but they were prepping for regionals and she was on nights, so that fell through and we got tired of waiting.

I knew there was something relevant here. Is this the kind of box you are referring to? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/27/nicer-legs-and-some-new-carpentry-skills-for-only-15-bucks/

Crossfit gym's are commonly referred to as a "box".

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #356 on: February 06, 2017, 09:39:26 AM »
We were hoping for a crossfit box closeout. We had originally tried to see if we could order through them at warehouse pricing, since I have a friend who she and her husband own a box, but they were prepping for regionals and she was on nights, so that fell through and we got tired of waiting.

I knew there was something relevant here. Is this the kind of box you are referring to? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/27/nicer-legs-and-some-new-carpentry-skills-for-only-15-bucks/

Haha, good link but no. Like Cromacster said, the 'box' is the gym itself. Sometimes when gyms close they'll post everything online for way cut down prices, and that can be a great time to grab equipment.

We may build a jump box at some point, but it's not on the summer 'to build' list AFAIK.

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #357 on: February 06, 2017, 09:59:52 AM »
We were hoping for a crossfit box closeout. We had originally tried to see if we could order through them at warehouse pricing, since I have a friend who she and her husband own a box, but they were prepping for regionals and she was on nights, so that fell through and we got tired of waiting.

I knew there was something relevant here. Is this the kind of box you are referring to? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/27/nicer-legs-and-some-new-carpentry-skills-for-only-15-bucks/

Haha, good link but no. Like Cromacster said, the 'box' is the gym itself. Sometimes when gyms close they'll post everything online for way cut down prices, and that can be a great time to grab equipment.

We may build a jump box at some point, but it's not on the summer 'to build' list AFAIK.

Sweet. I just learned something. Previously, I knew that you are supposed to talk about crossfit, I knew that WOD means Workout Of the Day. Now I know what gyms are called.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #358 on: February 06, 2017, 10:28:08 AM »
We were hoping for a crossfit box closeout. We had originally tried to see if we could order through them at warehouse pricing, since I have a friend who she and her husband own a box, but they were prepping for regionals and she was on nights, so that fell through and we got tired of waiting.

I knew there was something relevant here. Is this the kind of box you are referring to? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/27/nicer-legs-and-some-new-carpentry-skills-for-only-15-bucks/

Haha, good link but no. Like Cromacster said, the 'box' is the gym itself. Sometimes when gyms close they'll post everything online for way cut down prices, and that can be a great time to grab equipment.

We may build a jump box at some point, but it's not on the summer 'to build' list AFAIK.

Sweet. I just learned something. Previously, I knew that you are supposed to talk about crossfit, I knew that WOD means Workout Of the Day. Now I know what gyms are called.

If you actually do want to learn more/get a feel for the competitions, there's a documentary on netflix called 'fittest on earth' that I enjoyed. If nothing else, it really pumps you up for a workout. =P

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #359 on: February 06, 2017, 10:30:51 AM »
We were hoping for a crossfit box closeout. We had originally tried to see if we could order through them at warehouse pricing, since I have a friend who she and her husband own a box, but they were prepping for regionals and she was on nights, so that fell through and we got tired of waiting.

I knew there was something relevant here. Is this the kind of box you are referring to? http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/04/27/nicer-legs-and-some-new-carpentry-skills-for-only-15-bucks/

Haha, good link but no. Like Cromacster said, the 'box' is the gym itself. Sometimes when gyms close they'll post everything online for way cut down prices, and that can be a great time to grab equipment.

We may build a jump box at some point, but it's not on the summer 'to build' list AFAIK.

Sweet. I just learned something. Previously, I knew that you are supposed to talk about crossfit, I knew that WOD means Workout Of the Day. Now I know what gyms are called.

If you actually do want to learn more/get a feel for the competitions, there's a documentary on netflix called 'fittest on earth' that I enjoyed. If nothing else, it really pumps you up for a workout. =P

That's what ANW does for me. Or Battles of the Bars, or any Al Kavadlo montage (not the ask Al's...his hey hey hey gets annoying).

Lagom

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #360 on: February 06, 2017, 11:09:55 AM »
I had to search it out, but I found the picture I posted of our home gym. We've added another set of bumper plates since then, and swapped the small speakers for a bigger speaker/amp set up. Also added a white board on the back wall. I'll re-take a photo at some point, but not right now =) Hmm, we also added a rack with a speed rope and some elastic bands on the back wall... okay, I really do need to take a new photo sometime!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/roughest-mustachian-on-the-nicest-block/msg1216817/#msg1216817
Also! Forgot to post my home gym as previously requested.



Nice rack! I keep looking for bumper plates at a reasonable cost, but nothing yet. I'm hoping one of the 39 crossfit boxes in a 10 minute radius from me will go out of business so I can grab some for cheap.

Yeah that looks great! How stable do you find it? Do you have to be gentle about walking in 400lbs, or does it put up with a bit of horizontal force?
« Last Edit: February 06, 2017, 12:13:39 PM by Lagom »

headwinds

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #361 on: February 06, 2017, 11:25:12 AM »
Haven't really been keeping track, but have been getting after it! Checked out the boulders near Prescott with my lady the other day.



Had a nice long hike in Sycamore Canyon

« Last Edit: February 06, 2017, 11:29:28 AM by headwinds »

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #362 on: February 06, 2017, 11:47:15 AM »
I had to search it out, but I found the picture I posted of our home gym. We've added another set of bumper plates since then, and swapped the small speakers for a bigger speaker/amp set up. Also added a white board on the back wall. I'll re-take a photo at some point, but not right now =) Hmm, we also added a rack with a speed rope and some elastic bands on the back wall... okay, I really do need to take a new photo sometime!

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/journals/roughest-mustachian-on-the-nicest-block/msg1216817/#msg1216817
Also! Forgot to post my home gym as previously requested.



Nice rack! I keep looking for bumper plates at a reasonable cost, but nothing yet. I'm hoping one of the 39 crossfit boxes in a 10 minute radius from me will go out of business so I can grab some for cheap.

Yeah that looks great! How stable do you find it? Do you have to be gentle about walking in 400lbs, or does it put but with a bit of horizontal force?

It definitely tolerates a surprising amount of horizontal force.

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #363 on: February 06, 2017, 12:36:13 PM »
So due to a few reasons (venting and focusing among other things), I hung up a punching bag, and decided to use it as a warm up.
Boxing isn't a thing I'm really interested in, at least not in and of itself, but since I have the stuff, I might as well try it out.
X-Posted:

Boxing - After Action, Day 1

So the playlist I used is this one (this is subject to change, because I don't want to iterate versions of the list on youtube).

Here is v1 song list (not links)

  • DVBBS & Dropgun - Pyramids (ft. Sanjin)
  • Armin van Buuren - Ping Pong
  • Deorro - Bailar
  • R3hab vs Skytech & Fafaq - Tiger
  • R3HAB & KSHMR - Karate
  • Shakira - Dare (La La La)

So I messed up the first song. It's good, but I really wanted the build up from Dierro's Five Hours...I just picked the wrong mp3. So I listened to the first minute while I got set up, and then started punching lightly, and speeding up a bit. I'm glad I remembered how to wrap my hands, because the supporting muscles in my wrist aren't strong enough to handle the shock of repeated hits like that. I've never been a boxer, but I used to play around on a bag. I finally got the jabs and crosses up to beat about 1:00 from the end of the first song. Ping Pong started, and I was able to stay in a stance, switching to make sure I'm being even. Holy crap! At this point, I was beginning to sweat, and feel the muscles in my back understanding that they were working out. Heart rate was up, and I was really embracing the punching with the beat idea. And then the next song came on. Bailar is a fun song, but it was really hard to maintain my stance. My stance shifted to some weird combination of salsa fighting. And then tiger came on, and I made it about 90 seconds in. At that point, since I was using this as a warm up, I stopped, and did my regular Convict Conditioning workout. Fun stuff, but more to learn. I do think that the bag is going to be a good daily thing, or something that is more high intensity cardio that allows me to clear my mind. I'm glad I set it up. It was a good warm up.

horsepoor

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #364 on: February 06, 2017, 06:43:38 PM »
Managed a 2 mile run today after work.  My ankle is really taking its time healing, but is getting better steadily. I was on my feet several hours Saturday and walked about 10 miles over the weekend. I did feel it getting fatigued towards the end of the day, but it recovered completely by the next day.  It was doing some funny popping on the run today, but felt pretty good. Will probably try to run again on Friday.  The two mile run seemed about right, I just need to keep at it.  I tend to talk myself out of it because 2 miles isn't "worth it," but it is.

TightFistedScot

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #365 on: February 07, 2017, 07:02:10 AM »
Managed a 2 mile run today after work.  My ankle is really taking its time healing, but is getting better steadily. I was on my feet several hours Saturday and walked about 10 miles over the weekend. I did feel it getting fatigued towards the end of the day, but it recovered completely by the next day.  It was doing some funny popping on the run today, but felt pretty good. Will probably try to run again on Friday.  The two mile run seemed about right, I just need to keep at it.  I tend to talk myself out of it because 2 miles isn't "worth it," but it is.

What happened to your ankle?

On Saturday my ankle spontaneously got really swollen and sore after some regular walking (not more than 20 minutes). It was like it got sprained. But I didn't roll it or anything. It was really weird. I used to sprain this ankle as a child fairly often. It isn't sore anymore but still swollen.


Random strength and fitness updates:

Squatted 315 for 1 rep, twice - last week. Felt good.
Deadlifted 365 for 1 rep - yesterday. Felt like ass, but at least my back isn't very sore today.

Today I am giving a guest lecture to over 200 students for the class I am a teaching assistant for this semester. The topic is on social support, mental health, and physical activity. To get them in the mood for my lecture, I'm going to do a handstand!!! I'll see if I can get someone to take a photo for my twitter. :P


LifeHappens

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #366 on: February 07, 2017, 11:21:07 AM »
Started PT for my right shoulder today. My family Dr thinks I have tendinosis, but the DPT hasn't seen my MRI yet and I trust his expertise in this area more, so we'll see. I just know the shoulder's been hurting on and off for years. Currently I can't do most pushing movements, so full pushups are out. It also hurts when I try to run. Something about the swinging motion is super painful after 5-10 minutes. I want to get this addressed before I do something really dumb like tear my rotator cuff.           

Today the PT did a range of motion evaluation, dug into some tight spots and had me stretch. I have a list of stretches to do 2x per day, plus he wants me to ice at least once per day. They want to see me 3x per week for 2 weeks, then maybe 2x per week for another 2 weeks. Each visit is costing me $50, so if I need all 10, it will be $500, plus the $500 I've already spent getting the MRI and diagnosis. Bleh.

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #367 on: February 07, 2017, 06:32:22 PM »
A bit late but here's my overall and very simple fitness and health goals for 2017:

- Increase my flexibility, endurance and muscle strength to do the follow yoga move: press headstand and the splits.

I usually train 3x a week but with very little improvment months after months. I've always wanted to do the splits but couldn't see real results even with trying everyday. I bought a Cody bundle (pure flexibility) and boy I was training wrong ! Hoping to see some progress as I'm now flexing all of my body instead of focusing on only a few parts.

 I'm also doing PIIT28 1.0, it's actually the only fitness program I didn't got bored off for now. I did it once in dec 2016 but I didn't followed the schedule as I was too sore/tired. Back to the normal schedule now ! So my goal right now is to train 6x/week with PIIT28 and substitute with weight training if I want to spice things a bit. Then do Pure Flexibility 5x/week as a cooldown.

frugalwitch, I've got you add to the participant tracking post. There are also some links about just the splits in the resource post (although it may be the 2016 legacy resources, which is one comment down).

Welcome to the gauntlet.

Did people actually get into the front splits with the link from the resource post? I took a look, and I do virtually ALL of those stretch exercises daily at yoga (which I've been doing consistently for almost a month now). I feel like I'm very slowly getting closer to front splits, but it seems crazy to say you could get there in 30 days by just doing a few of those stretches a day. I'd say maybe I could get them in six months? Perhaps progress on that front isn't linear, though.

My knees have been hurting a bit, and I came to the realization that while practicing front splits and I'm trying to challenge myself to go lower, I'm hyperextending my knee instead of making my hamstring muscle do the stretch, so I've been more aware of that and trying to keep a tension/bend in my front knee. Same with when I stand in a wide straddle and fold forward; I'm getting my gains toward the floor at the expense of my knees. Whoops! Now that I realize I'm doing it hopefully I can knock it off and let my sore ligaments heal.

Sorry I didn't reply to this earlier. I have to hit up Zikoris, who hasn't popped in here yet, because I think that she is the one who pointed at that. I could be wrong, and just getting her mixed up with someone else due to her benchmark photo. I'll harass her to get in here, but I know she's been pretty busy. Regardless, she is the one who comes to mind when it comes to questions about splits.

headwinds

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #368 on: February 07, 2017, 06:39:20 PM »
Started PT for my right shoulder today. My family Dr thinks I have tendinosis, but the DPT hasn't seen my MRI yet and I trust his expertise in this area more, so we'll see. I just know the shoulder's been hurting on and off for years. Currently I can't do most pushing movements, so full pushups are out. It also hurts when I try to run. Something about the swinging motion is super painful after 5-10 minutes. I want to get this addressed before I do something really dumb like tear my rotator cuff.           

Today the PT did a range of motion evaluation, dug into some tight spots and had me stretch. I have a list of stretches to do 2x per day, plus he wants me to ice at least once per day. They want to see me 3x per week for 2 weeks, then maybe 2x per week for another 2 weeks. Each visit is costing me $50, so if I need all 10, it will be $500, plus the $500 I've already spent getting the MRI and diagnosis. Bleh.

Hope you feel better soon. I have a nagging shoulder too and have been putting off getting seen for it but it might be time.

LifeHappens

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #369 on: February 08, 2017, 01:04:34 PM »
Started PT for my right shoulder today. My family Dr thinks I have tendinosis, but the DPT hasn't seen my MRI yet and I trust his expertise in this area more, so we'll see. I just know the shoulder's been hurting on and off for years. Currently I can't do most pushing movements, so full pushups are out. It also hurts when I try to run. Something about the swinging motion is super painful after 5-10 minutes. I want to get this addressed before I do something really dumb like tear my rotator cuff.           

Today the PT did a range of motion evaluation, dug into some tight spots and had me stretch. I have a list of stretches to do 2x per day, plus he wants me to ice at least once per day. They want to see me 3x per week for 2 weeks, then maybe 2x per week for another 2 weeks. Each visit is costing me $50, so if I need all 10, it will be $500, plus the $500 I've already spent getting the MRI and diagnosis. Bleh.

Hope you feel better soon. I have a nagging shoulder too and have been putting off getting seen for it but it might be time.

Yeah, I'm hoping this prevents worse injuries in the long run. The really dumb thing is if I had invested $200 in better desk ergonomics and improved my working habits I probably would not have this issue at all.

What finally tipped me over the edge in getting a diagnosis was shoveling 4 or 5 yards of topsoil and moving it around my yard. The pain was bad enough to keep me awake at night, even after 3 ibuprofen. I thought I had torn something.

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #370 on: February 08, 2017, 03:14:26 PM »
A bit late but here's my overall and very simple fitness and health goals for 2017:

- Increase my flexibility, endurance and muscle strength to do the follow yoga move: press headstand and the splits.

I usually train 3x a week but with very little improvment months after months. I've always wanted to do the splits but couldn't see real results even with trying everyday. I bought a Cody bundle (pure flexibility) and boy I was training wrong ! Hoping to see some progress as I'm now flexing all of my body instead of focusing on only a few parts.

 I'm also doing PIIT28 1.0, it's actually the only fitness program I didn't got bored off for now. I did it once in dec 2016 but I didn't followed the schedule as I was too sore/tired. Back to the normal schedule now ! So my goal right now is to train 6x/week with PIIT28 and substitute with weight training if I want to spice things a bit. Then do Pure Flexibility 5x/week as a cooldown.

frugalwitch, I've got you add to the participant tracking post. There are also some links about just the splits in the resource post (although it may be the 2016 legacy resources, which is one comment down).

Welcome to the gauntlet.

Did people actually get into the front splits with the link from the resource post? I took a look, and I do virtually ALL of those stretch exercises daily at yoga (which I've been doing consistently for almost a month now). I feel like I'm very slowly getting closer to front splits, but it seems crazy to say you could get there in 30 days by just doing a few of those stretches a day. I'd say maybe I could get them in six months? Perhaps progress on that front isn't linear, though.

My knees have been hurting a bit, and I came to the realization that while practicing front splits and I'm trying to challenge myself to go lower, I'm hyperextending my knee instead of making my hamstring muscle do the stretch, so I've been more aware of that and trying to keep a tension/bend in my front knee. Same with when I stand in a wide straddle and fold forward; I'm getting my gains toward the floor at the expense of my knees. Whoops! Now that I realize I'm doing it hopefully I can knock it off and let my sore ligaments heal.

Those stretches look like good progressions, I would definitely hold them for much longer though. I was recommended 3 minutes by the doctor who led my anatomy lesson in my yoga teacher training. Here is a good article that goes into the science: http://web.mit.edu/tkd/stretch/stretching_2.html#SEC13

"One of the reasons for holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time is that as you hold the muscle in a stretched position, the muscle spindle habituates (becomes accustomed to the new length) and reduces its signaling. Gradually, you can train your stretch receptors to allow greater lengthening of the muscles."

renata ricotta

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #371 on: February 08, 2017, 04:05:34 PM »
A bit late but here's my overall and very simple fitness and health goals for 2017:

- Increase my flexibility, endurance and muscle strength to do the follow yoga move: press headstand and the splits.

I usually train 3x a week but with very little improvment months after months. I've always wanted to do the splits but couldn't see real results even with trying everyday. I bought a Cody bundle (pure flexibility) and boy I was training wrong ! Hoping to see some progress as I'm now flexing all of my body instead of focusing on only a few parts.

 I'm also doing PIIT28 1.0, it's actually the only fitness program I didn't got bored off for now. I did it once in dec 2016 but I didn't followed the schedule as I was too sore/tired. Back to the normal schedule now ! So my goal right now is to train 6x/week with PIIT28 and substitute with weight training if I want to spice things a bit. Then do Pure Flexibility 5x/week as a cooldown.

frugalwitch, I've got you add to the participant tracking post. There are also some links about just the splits in the resource post (although it may be the 2016 legacy resources, which is one comment down).

Welcome to the gauntlet.

Did people actually get into the front splits with the link from the resource post? I took a look, and I do virtually ALL of those stretch exercises daily at yoga (which I've been doing consistently for almost a month now). I feel like I'm very slowly getting closer to front splits, but it seems crazy to say you could get there in 30 days by just doing a few of those stretches a day. I'd say maybe I could get them in six months? Perhaps progress on that front isn't linear, though.

My knees have been hurting a bit, and I came to the realization that while practicing front splits and I'm trying to challenge myself to go lower, I'm hyperextending my knee instead of making my hamstring muscle do the stretch, so I've been more aware of that and trying to keep a tension/bend in my front knee. Same with when I stand in a wide straddle and fold forward; I'm getting my gains toward the floor at the expense of my knees. Whoops! Now that I realize I'm doing it hopefully I can knock it off and let my sore ligaments heal.

Those stretches look like good progressions, I would definitely hold them for much longer though. I was recommended 3 minutes by the doctor who led my anatomy lesson in my yoga teacher training. Here is a good article that goes into the science: http://web.mit.edu/tkd/stretch/stretching_2.html#SEC13

"One of the reasons for holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time is that as you hold the muscle in a stretched position, the muscle spindle habituates (becomes accustomed to the new length) and reduces its signaling. Gradually, you can train your stretch receptors to allow greater lengthening of the muscles."

Makes sense.  I'll start sticking around in the yoga room after class to hold the hamstring stretches for longer when my muscles are already warm - I'm only about 2-3 inches off of the ground, so I think I can get there soon!

Grumpy complaint about the new instructor who just took over evening classes - when I was in wheel last week, she put her hand on my shoulder blades to push them farther up, even though I was already stretched as far as was comfortable, and my entire left arm went numb almost immediately and was intermittently numb and tingly for the next two days (I assume a nerve was compressed or something).  I don't mind at all when instructors gently help me improve my form, but physically moving my body farther than it should go - especially when I'm in a pose that makes it hard to resist the correction - is Not Cool.

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #372 on: February 08, 2017, 04:10:21 PM »

Grumpy complaint about the new instructor who just took over evening classes - when I was in wheel last week, she put her hand on my shoulder blades to push them farther up, even though I was already stretched as far as was comfortable, and my entire left arm went numb almost immediately and was intermittently numb and tingly for the next two days (I assume a nerve was compressed or something).  I don't mind at all when instructors gently help me improve my form, but physically moving my body farther than it should go - especially when I'm in a pose that makes it hard to resist the correction - is Not Cool.

I would definitely say something to her! I give lots of hands on adjustments in lots of poses, but I make sure I know the student first before giving a big deepening assist. We can't feel what you feel so hearing whether or not an assist worked for you or didn't is good feedback for us. I would bring it up before your next class with her if possible. It's always nice to hear when an assist felt good too.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #373 on: February 08, 2017, 04:27:15 PM »

Grumpy complaint about the new instructor who just took over evening classes - when I was in wheel last week, she put her hand on my shoulder blades to push them farther up, even though I was already stretched as far as was comfortable, and my entire left arm went numb almost immediately and was intermittently numb and tingly for the next two days (I assume a nerve was compressed or something).  I don't mind at all when instructors gently help me improve my form, but physically moving my body farther than it should go - especially when I'm in a pose that makes it hard to resist the correction - is Not Cool.

I would definitely say something to her! I give lots of hands on adjustments in lots of poses, but I make sure I know the student first before giving a big deepening assist. We can't feel what you feel so hearing whether or not an assist worked for you or didn't is good feedback for us. I would bring it up before your next class with her if possible. It's always nice to hear when an assist felt good too.

In the moment, I did give a pretty sharp "NOPE!" but could probably explain to her in a little more detail what the exact problem was. :) I was more than a little cranky about it though (sometimes yoga seems to bring my Moods to the fore, like they're being physically wrung out of all the places I've been hiding them), so I just left that class quickly. Now that I've had a chance to chill, I'll mention it to her.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #374 on: February 09, 2017, 07:39:31 AM »
In the moment, I did give a pretty sharp "NOPE!" but could probably explain to her in a little more detail what the exact problem was. :) I was more than a little cranky about it though (sometimes yoga seems to bring my Moods to the fore, like they're being physically wrung out of all the places I've been hiding them), so I just left that class quickly. Now that I've had a chance to chill, I'll mention it to her.

The mood thing happens to me as well. I think "physically wrung out" is a good way to describe it.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #375 on: February 09, 2017, 07:58:03 AM »
In the moment, I did give a pretty sharp "NOPE!" but could probably explain to her in a little more detail what the exact problem was. :) I was more than a little cranky about it though (sometimes yoga seems to bring my Moods to the fore, like they're being physically wrung out of all the places I've been hiding them), so I just left that class quickly. Now that I've had a chance to chill, I'll mention it to her.

The mood thing happens to me as well. I think "physically wrung out" is a good way to describe it.

Isn't that part of the point?

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #376 on: February 09, 2017, 09:04:19 AM »
In the moment, I did give a pretty sharp "NOPE!" but could probably explain to her in a little more detail what the exact problem was. :) I was more than a little cranky about it though (sometimes yoga seems to bring my Moods to the fore, like they're being physically wrung out of all the places I've been hiding them), so I just left that class quickly. Now that I've had a chance to chill, I'll mention it to her.

The mood thing happens to me as well. I think "physically wrung out" is a good way to describe it.

Isn't that part of the point?

It certainly can be, but a lot of people don't expect it. They get surprised when they suddenly feel sad or angry during class for "no apparent" reason. I've had yoga bring up tears for me, but generally I have minimal emotional stirrings or I just finish happy and  feeling "better."

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #377 on: February 09, 2017, 09:30:58 AM »
Running a half marathon this weekend. I've been running in mostly 20-30 degree weather, frequently colder, sometimes with snow. Weather for the half is currently calling for 60-65 degrees during the race (high of 72 for the day) with a 60% chance of rain. So that should be fun. I've been putting in the miles since my pain issue on my last truly long run, but no hard workouts. So I really don't know what the half will bring, my overall mileage tells me I will complete fine, but the lack of hard effort runs and lingering tightness in my left glute area after some runs tells me I should probably take it easy and just focus on marking another state off my list.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #378 on: February 09, 2017, 09:40:37 AM »
Managed a 2 mile run today after work.  My ankle is really taking its time healing, but is getting better steadily. I was on my feet several hours Saturday and walked about 10 miles over the weekend. I did feel it getting fatigued towards the end of the day, but it recovered completely by the next day.  It was doing some funny popping on the run today, but felt pretty good. Will probably try to run again on Friday.  The two mile run seemed about right, I just need to keep at it.  I tend to talk myself out of it because 2 miles isn't "worth it," but it is.

What happened to your ankle?

On Saturday my ankle spontaneously got really swollen and sore after some regular walking (not more than 20 minutes). It was like it got sprained. But I didn't roll it or anything. It was really weird. I used to sprain this ankle as a child fairly often. It isn't sore anymore but still swollen.


My horse bucked me off rather spectacularly at the end of August, and apparently my left foot was the first thing to slam into the ground.  I thought it was just a normal sprain, but apparently was a little more involved than that, based on how long it's taking to truly heal.

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #379 on: February 10, 2017, 11:15:12 AM »
Y'all! I need some advice about programming when I have lots of simultaneous goals.

Right now, according to my data tracking, I spend 8.5 hours a week doing "work out" type activities, not including bike commuting. I also spend 4 hours a week work-trading at the hot yoga studio, which does get me free yoga, but I also do it for the networking for my business. But wouldn't do it if it didn't save me $89/month on yoga. So about 12.5 hours a week on fitness-y things.

My 30th birthday is July 7th, and I'm working on a ton of goals related to that. I'm having trouble keeping on top of all of them without just spend all my free time at the gym. I feel like they should be compatible, can you help me figure out a way to do this? Current goals:
  • Get my splits - this has proved incredibly challenging for me (thanks hamstrings of steel) - and it seems I need to spend 40+ minutes a day stretching deep stretches to achieve this, which eats into cardio/lifting time
  • 100 hours of yoga this calendar year (at 11 hours) - so 2-3 hours a week
  • Choreograph & master a dance for my 30th birthday (let's say 4 hours a week of practice in the next couple months)
  • Train for/run a half-marathon (in the past, it's taken me running 4 times a week, ~45 minutes, averaged out)
  • Lift my bodyweight (116lbs) for deadlift & backsquat, 100lbs for bench press (that's seeming less likely) - maybe 30 minutes, 3 times a week of lifting?
  • 100 continuous pushups (at 77 right now) -??? Takes me 3 minutes a day to do MAX pushups usually
Total time per week, estimate: 16.2 hours + 4 hours of yoga shift

So, is the answer to drop some goals, increase my gym time, or find a way to make more goals double up?



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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #380 on: February 10, 2017, 11:20:45 AM »
Climbing at a commercial gym the other day, didn't keep track of the v-points. Did a ton of v4-5 problems, flashing about half of them. Couldn't get up any v6-7 problems. Got on the rings for the first time in a long time, found out that I can still do a muscle up so that's pretty cool :)

headwinds

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #381 on: February 10, 2017, 11:25:50 AM »
Current goals:
  • Get my splits - this has proved incredibly challenging for me (thanks hamstrings of steel) - and it seems I need to spend 40+ minutes a day stretching deep stretches to achieve this, which eats into cardio/lifting time
  • 100 hours of yoga this calendar year (at 11 hours) - so 2-3 hours a week
  • Choreograph & master a dance for my 30th birthday (let's say 4 hours a week of practice in the next couple months)
  • Train for/run a half-marathon (in the past, it's taken me running 4 times a week, ~45 minutes, averaged out)
  • Lift my bodyweight (116lbs) for deadlift & backsquat, 100lbs for bench press (that's seeming less likely) - maybe 30 minutes, 3 times a week of lifting?
  • 100 continuous pushups (at 77 right now) -??? Takes me 3 minutes a day to do MAX pushups usually
Total time per week, estimate: 16.2 hours + 4 hours of yoga shift

So, is the answer to drop some goals, increase my gym time, or find a way to make more goals double up?

I have no idea where to start with that many divergent goals. I think your best option is to pick one or two that are your highest priority and work on them until you achieve them. Once you reach a level where you can, for example, deadlift your body weight, it will require much less time investment to maintain that level and you can prioritize something else.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #382 on: February 10, 2017, 11:34:28 AM »
I have no idea where to start with that many divergent goals. I think your best option is to pick one or two that are your highest priority and work on them until you achieve them. Once you reach a level where you can, for example, deadlift your body weight, it will require much less time investment to maintain that level and you can prioritize something else.
Yea, that was sort of my thought. The only goal that takes a ton of time commitment and kinda goes against the others is the half-marathon goal, which I've done a dozen times in the past couple years. I just keep coming back to it because it's an easy accomplishment with a clear training schedule. The other advantage, is outside of my daily bike commute, it's the easiest thing to make sure I get enough cardio.

I think the problem is I like fitness too much & have too high of standards after being a high-level competitive athlete for so long, so I have trouble focusing on one thing (unless it's figure skating, which obviously is way too expensive to be mustachian.) Just "be fit" ends up feeling like not setting the bar high enough.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #383 on: February 10, 2017, 11:37:49 AM »
I have no idea where to start with that many divergent goals. I think your best option is to pick one or two that are your highest priority and work on them until you achieve them. Once you reach a level where you can, for example, deadlift your body weight, it will require much less time investment to maintain that level and you can prioritize something else.
Yea, that was sort of my thought. The only goal that takes a ton of time commitment and kinda goes against the others is the half-marathon goal, which I've done a dozen times in the past couple years. I just keep coming back to it because it's an easy accomplishment with a clear training schedule. The other advantage, is outside of my daily bike commute, it's the easiest thing to make sure I get enough cardio.

I think the problem is I like fitness too much & have too high of standards after being a high-level competitive athlete for so long, so I have trouble focusing on one thing (unless it's figure skating, which obviously is way too expensive to be mustachian.) Just "be fit" ends up feeling like not setting the bar high enough.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about the goals being difficult to double up on. My initial thought was something along the lines of cross training. Maybe a really uppity dance so that it's cardio too?

Also, are you doing these all separately? I know it doesn't matter so much as far as the actual time goes, but I was thinking that the yoga (unless it's just the shift), the running, and the pushups could all be used as a warm up to your lifting. And I would think that you could reduce the time stretching if you do them after your workout, when you are all warmed up.

brute

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #384 on: February 10, 2017, 11:43:18 AM »
I have no idea where to start with that many divergent goals. I think your best option is to pick one or two that are your highest priority and work on them until you achieve them. Once you reach a level where you can, for example, deadlift your body weight, it will require much less time investment to maintain that level and you can prioritize something else.
Yea, that was sort of my thought. The only goal that takes a ton of time commitment and kinda goes against the others is the half-marathon goal, which I've done a dozen times in the past couple years. I just keep coming back to it because it's an easy accomplishment with a clear training schedule. The other advantage, is outside of my daily bike commute, it's the easiest thing to make sure I get enough cardio.

I think the problem is I like fitness too much & have too high of standards after being a high-level competitive athlete for so long, so I have trouble focusing on one thing (unless it's figure skating, which obviously is way too expensive to be mustachian.) Just "be fit" ends up feeling like not setting the bar high enough.

I can get your deadlift to 135 in a few months while you train for whatever cardio you want. Benefit of being a deadlift specialist is I've seen all the training programs. What's your current max? What equipment do you have access to?

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #385 on: February 10, 2017, 11:51:04 AM »
Also, are you doing these all separately? I know it doesn't matter so much as far as the actual time goes, but I was thinking that the yoga (unless it's just the shift), the running, and the pushups could all be used as a warm up to your lifting. And I would think that you could reduce the time stretching if you do them after your workout, when you are all warmed up.
I usually combine 30 minutes of cardio/running on treadmills followed by 30 minutes of stretching on the mats, or 10 minutes of warmup cardio + 20 minutes of lifting or bodyweight strength + 30 minutes of stretching.  If I hit a class, I get 60 minutes of cardio/strength and then I do 15 minutes of stretching.

The stretching eats up so much time and feels so "passive", but I would put getting my splits back as my #1 fitness goal. Which is silly because it's just for personal accomplishment reasons (doesn't make me healthier) but fuck it. I want it. I've been working at it so goddamn long.

I haven't started choreographing and practicing the dance at all yet, beyond taking 5:30AM dance cardio class which is totally not at all the same as West Coast Swing. Maybe it's better I don't count that as a fitness goal, and just a hobby.

Unfortunately, the yoga is far from my house (but across the street from my 2-day-a-week office) and is just at a hot yoga studio with no other ability to do anything else. Which is why I thought I would go 5 days a week, but I've been averaging 2. Gotta fix that so the 16 hours/month of work trade make some sense - now that we appear to be done with snowstorms making commuting hard, I'll be endeavoring to get that up.

I can get your deadlift to 135 in a few months while you train for whatever cardio you want. Benefit of being a deadlift specialist is I've seen all the training programs. What's your current max? What equipment do you have access to?
Very curious about this. Current one rep max is 91.5lbs. 3x5 is 88.5lbs. I have access to normal barbells & weight plates, kettlebells, hand weights, and all the MegaGym weight machines I totally ignore,  plus a smith machine that unfortunately doesn't go down far enough for deadlifts. I don't have a lifting partner so it's hard to find someone to spot me though (matters less for deadlifts, I guess, but matters for benching).

LifeHappens

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #386 on: February 10, 2017, 12:09:16 PM »
  • Get my splits - this has proved incredibly challenging for me (thanks hamstrings of steel) - and it seems I need to spend 40+ minutes a day stretching deep stretches to achieve this, which eats into cardio/lifting time
  • Lift my bodyweight (116lbs) for deadlift & backsquat

These goals seem contradictory. I'm not expert, but if you have "hamstrings of steel" training deadlift and backsquat are going to make them more steely.

brute

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #387 on: February 10, 2017, 12:15:32 PM »
Also, are you doing these all separately? I know it doesn't matter so much as far as the actual time goes, but I was thinking that the yoga (unless it's just the shift), the running, and the pushups could all be used as a warm up to your lifting. And I would think that you could reduce the time stretching if you do them after your workout, when you are all warmed up.
I usually combine 30 minutes of cardio/running on treadmills followed by 30 minutes of stretching on the mats, or 10 minutes of warmup cardio + 20 minutes of lifting or bodyweight strength + 30 minutes of stretching.  If I hit a class, I get 60 minutes of cardio/strength and then I do 15 minutes of stretching.

The stretching eats up so much time and feels so "passive", but I would put getting my splits back as my #1 fitness goal. Which is silly because it's just for personal accomplishment reasons (doesn't make me healthier) but fuck it. I want it. I've been working at it so goddamn long.

I haven't started choreographing and practicing the dance at all yet, beyond taking 5:30AM dance cardio class which is totally not at all the same as West Coast Swing. Maybe it's better I don't count that as a fitness goal, and just a hobby.

Unfortunately, the yoga is far from my house (but across the street from my 2-day-a-week office) and is just at a hot yoga studio with no other ability to do anything else. Which is why I thought I would go 5 days a week, but I've been averaging 2. Gotta fix that so the 16 hours/month of work trade make some sense - now that we appear to be done with snowstorms making commuting hard, I'll be endeavoring to get that up.

I can get your deadlift to 135 in a few months while you train for whatever cardio you want. Benefit of being a deadlift specialist is I've seen all the training programs. What's your current max? What equipment do you have access to?
Very curious about this. Current one rep max is 91.5lbs. 3x5 is 88.5lbs. I have access to normal barbells & weight plates, kettlebells, hand weights, and all the MegaGym weight machines I totally ignore,  plus a smith machine that unfortunately doesn't go down far enough for deadlifts. I don't have a lifting partner so it's hard to find someone to spot me though (matters less for deadlifts, I guess, but matters for benching).

What's your sticking point with deadlifts? I'll write up a couple of options my wife used to go from 105 to 235 in about 6 months while dropping bodyfat.

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #388 on: February 10, 2017, 12:27:00 PM »
What's your sticking point with deadlifts? I'll write up a couple of options my wife used to go from 105 to 235 in about 6 months while dropping bodyfat.
Honestly, not having a program I love and not having a training partner. I was doing great when I had small group lifting classes, but they're too pricey for me. I've been getting better, but at ~2lb/month which is slower than I'd like.


These goals seem contradictory. I'm not expert, but if you have "hamstrings of steel" training deadlift and backsquat are going to make them more steely.
I'm so curious about this. The reason I think it was possible was that I was REALLY FUCKING STRONG when I was a figure skater (leg press using machine 400lbs when I was 100lbs, bench press 150lbs, do double axels and triple lutzes which require insane explosive strength) but I could also lift my foot above my head and hold it there, dive down into the splits, and do upside-down splits while rotating in the air. I had to stretch a ton, but it didn't seem to interfere with my explosive strength. I stretched about an hour each day back then, plus ballet 3 times a week and pilates. And obviously, 20-25 hours of figure skating on-ice.

But maybe that's because I was under 20 years old. Maybe it's just not possible to deadlift body weight and do splits and be 30.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #389 on: February 10, 2017, 12:28:36 PM »
Also, are you doing these all separately? I know it doesn't matter so much as far as the actual time goes, but I was thinking that the yoga (unless it's just the shift), the running, and the pushups could all be used as a warm up to your lifting. And I would think that you could reduce the time stretching if you do them after your workout, when you are all warmed up.
I usually combine 30 minutes of cardio/running on treadmills followed by 30 minutes of stretching on the mats, or 10 minutes of warmup cardio + 20 minutes of lifting or bodyweight strength + 30 minutes of stretching.  If I hit a class, I get 60 minutes of cardio/strength and then I do 15 minutes of stretching.

The stretching eats up so much time and feels so "passive", but I would put getting my splits back as my #1 fitness goal. Which is silly because it's just for personal accomplishment reasons (doesn't make me healthier) but fuck it. I want it. I've been working at it so goddamn long.

I haven't started choreographing and practicing the dance at all yet, beyond taking 5:30AM dance cardio class which is totally not at all the same as West Coast Swing. Maybe it's better I don't count that as a fitness goal, and just a hobby.

Unfortunately, the yoga is far from my house (but across the street from my 2-day-a-week office) and is just at a hot yoga studio with no other ability to do anything else. Which is why I thought I would go 5 days a week, but I've been averaging 2. Gotta fix that so the 16 hours/month of work trade make some sense - now that we appear to be done with snowstorms making commuting hard, I'll be endeavoring to get that up.

I can get your deadlift to 135 in a few months while you train for whatever cardio you want. Benefit of being a deadlift specialist is I've seen all the training programs. What's your current max? What equipment do you have access to?
Very curious about this. Current one rep max is 91.5lbs. 3x5 is 88.5lbs. I have access to normal barbells & weight plates, kettlebells, hand weights, and all the MegaGym weight machines I totally ignore,  plus a smith machine that unfortunately doesn't go down far enough for deadlifts. I don't have a lifting partner so it's hard to find someone to spot me though (matters less for deadlifts, I guess, but matters for benching).

What's your sticking point with deadlifts? I'll write up a couple of options my wife used to go from 105 to 235 in about 6 months while dropping bodyfat.

I also feel like it's important to note that MonsterMonster is an itty bitty human being, so 135lbs is pretty significant for her size. =)

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #390 on: February 10, 2017, 12:30:16 PM »
I also feel like it's important to note that MonsterMonster is an itty bitty human being, so 135lbs is pretty significant for her size. =)
I mean, I'm giant compared to my figure skating days, but yes,  I weigh 117 after I've eaten an entire pot of pasta.

brute

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #391 on: February 10, 2017, 01:08:56 PM »
Also, are you doing these all separately? I know it doesn't matter so much as far as the actual time goes, but I was thinking that the yoga (unless it's just the shift), the running, and the pushups could all be used as a warm up to your lifting. And I would think that you could reduce the time stretching if you do them after your workout, when you are all warmed up.
I usually combine 30 minutes of cardio/running on treadmills followed by 30 minutes of stretching on the mats, or 10 minutes of warmup cardio + 20 minutes of lifting or bodyweight strength + 30 minutes of stretching.  If I hit a class, I get 60 minutes of cardio/strength and then I do 15 minutes of stretching.

The stretching eats up so much time and feels so "passive", but I would put getting my splits back as my #1 fitness goal. Which is silly because it's just for personal accomplishment reasons (doesn't make me healthier) but fuck it. I want it. I've been working at it so goddamn long.

I haven't started choreographing and practicing the dance at all yet, beyond taking 5:30AM dance cardio class which is totally not at all the same as West Coast Swing. Maybe it's better I don't count that as a fitness goal, and just a hobby.

Unfortunately, the yoga is far from my house (but across the street from my 2-day-a-week office) and is just at a hot yoga studio with no other ability to do anything else. Which is why I thought I would go 5 days a week, but I've been averaging 2. Gotta fix that so the 16 hours/month of work trade make some sense - now that we appear to be done with snowstorms making commuting hard, I'll be endeavoring to get that up.

I can get your deadlift to 135 in a few months while you train for whatever cardio you want. Benefit of being a deadlift specialist is I've seen all the training programs. What's your current max? What equipment do you have access to?
Very curious about this. Current one rep max is 91.5lbs. 3x5 is 88.5lbs. I have access to normal barbells & weight plates, kettlebells, hand weights, and all the MegaGym weight machines I totally ignore,  plus a smith machine that unfortunately doesn't go down far enough for deadlifts. I don't have a lifting partner so it's hard to find someone to spot me though (matters less for deadlifts, I guess, but matters for benching).

What's your sticking point with deadlifts? I'll write up a couple of options my wife used to go from 105 to 235 in about 6 months while dropping bodyfat.

I also feel like it's important to note that MonsterMonster is an itty bitty human being, so 135lbs is pretty significant for her size. =)

You should see my lovely wife. 5'2" and 130. It's a hoot seeing her next to me at 6'5" and 315

Lagom

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #392 on: February 10, 2017, 01:17:07 PM »
I also feel like it's important to note that MonsterMonster is an itty bitty human being, so 135lbs is pretty significant for her size. =)
I mean, I'm giant compared to my figure skating days, but yes,  I weigh 117 after I've eaten an entire pot of pasta.

With that background I bet you can eventually get to at least 150-175 on the deadlift, if not a fair amount more! There are two former college cheerleaders at my gym who in less than a year of powerlifting (with no previous background beyond their cheer training) can deadlift 255lbs at 125lbs bodyweight and 345lbs at 145lbs body-weight respectively, so it's definitely doable!

As for flexibility, I find lifting makes me more flexible, personally, although I'm not going to be doing the splits ant time soon!

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #393 on: February 10, 2017, 01:26:43 PM »
I also feel like it's important to note that MonsterMonster is an itty bitty human being, so 135lbs is pretty significant for her size. =)
I mean, I'm giant compared to my figure skating days, but yes,  I weigh 117 after I've eaten an entire pot of pasta.

With that background I bet you can eventually get to at least 150-175 on the deadlift, if not a fair amount more! There are two former college cheerleaders at my gym who in less than a year of powerlifting (with no previous background beyond their cheer training) can deadlift 255lbs at 125lbs bodyweight and 345lbs at 145lbs body-weight respectively, so it's definitely doable!

As for flexibility, I find lifting makes me more flexible, personally, although I'm not going to be doing the splits ant time soon!
I have this somewhat silly arbitrary goal of getting to DL & back squat my bodyweight by the time I'm 30 years old in July. But after that, I don't intend to stop increasing. If it interferes with flexibility goals, though, those are the most important to me because of dance.

I have bad hands/wrists thanks to arthritis so I'm not sure I'll get to my 100lbs bench press goal anymore :( But I'm not positive it's a truly important goal, it would just feel cool.

Lagom

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #394 on: February 10, 2017, 01:55:01 PM »
I have this somewhat silly arbitrary goal of getting to DL & back squat my bodyweight by the time I'm 30 years old in July. But after that, I don't intend to stop increasing. If it interferes with flexibility goals, though, those are the most important to me because of dance.

I have bad hands/wrists thanks to arthritis so I'm not sure I'll get to my 100lbs bench press goal anymore :( But I'm not positive it's a truly important goal, it would just feel cool.

That should definitely doable and should not interfere with flexibility as long as you work on that as well. Many of the world's strongest man competitors or olympic weightlifters, for example, are remarkably flexible, so strength does not preclude flexibility.

Have you tried wrist wraps for bench? They help quite a bit with the pain, from my experience.

headwinds

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #395 on: February 10, 2017, 11:02:42 PM »
Just gettin after it.


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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #396 on: February 11, 2017, 06:05:21 AM »
What's your sticking point with deadlifts? I'll write up a couple of options my wife used to go from 105 to 235 in about 6 months while dropping bodyfat.
Honestly, not having a program I love and not having a training partner. I was doing great when I had small group lifting classes, but they're too pricey for me. I've been getting better, but at ~2lb/month which is slower than I'd like.


These goals seem contradictory. I'm not expert, but if you have "hamstrings of steel" training deadlift and backsquat are going to make them more steely.
I'm so curious about this. The reason I think it was possible was that I was REALLY FUCKING STRONG when I was a figure skater (leg press using machine 400lbs when I was 100lbs, bench press 150lbs, do double axels and triple lutzes which require insane explosive strength) but I could also lift my foot above my head and hold it there, dive down into the splits, and do upside-down splits while rotating in the air. I had to stretch a ton, but it didn't seem to interfere with my explosive strength. I stretched about an hour each day back then, plus ballet 3 times a week and pilates. And obviously, 20-25 hours of figure skating on-ice.

But maybe that's because I was under 20 years old. Maybe it's just not possible to deadlift body weight and do splits and be 30.

You can totally do the splits and also have hamstrings of steel!!! I think you goals are do-able. :)

TightFistedScot

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #397 on: February 11, 2017, 06:06:36 AM »
Just gettin after it.



How high up are you? Are you connected to anything? I feel sick looking at this photo lol
I'm going bouldering in a gym on Monday. Really excited about it. I'm too scared of heights at this point to really even enjoy rock climbing the walls in a gym.

TightFistedScot

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #398 on: February 11, 2017, 06:12:00 AM »
A latest powerlifting accomplishment:

I got a bench press PR of 260 lbs which is 1.66xbw (I weigh 156 lbs). This was without a liftoff. When I have someone to lift the weight off the rack for me I can usually do another 5 lbs.

I am planning to continue benching heavy and enter a bench-only powerlifting contest this summer. If I can get a 265 bench press in competition I would meet the qualifying standards for nationals. I think that is a goal I would like to set for myself.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQTOm1zj-xC/?taken-by=skinnin_kinnon

headwinds

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2017
« Reply #399 on: February 11, 2017, 06:58:08 AM »

How high up are you? Are you connected to anything? I feel sick looking at this photo lol
I'm going bouldering in a gym on Monday. Really excited about it. I'm too scared of heights at this point to really even enjoy rock climbing the walls in a gym.

The ground is just out of frame below, the top is just out of frame above, I'd say the whole boulder is maybe 14' high? And no, not connected to anything. :)


I got a bench press PR of 260 lbs which is 1.66xbw (I weigh 156 lbs). This was without a liftoff. When I have someone to lift the weight off the rack for me I can usually do another 5 lbs.


You're a beast!

 

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