Author Topic: Strength & Fitness 2016  (Read 402895 times)

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #500 on: February 15, 2016, 04:51:02 PM »
Popping into this thread for the first time.  Does anyone have advice/resources for putting together a simple bodyweight routine for cross training /injury prevention purposes?

I'm having a surprisingly hard time finding guidelines here, although I can't imagine I'm in a rare situation.  I'm a cyclist who also hikes and rides horses.  I could stand to lose 10 pounds but weight loss is neither a primary nor a secondary goal.  I'm mostly just looking for a cross training routine for injury prevention purposes. 

Because I love my other activities, I don't have a lot of patience for stretching & strengthening (which I don't enjoy), but I want to do it to help keep me active and out of PT.  I don't have any interest in all those HIIT workouts - usually I've just hopped off the bike so my heart rate is already up.  I'm looking for mostly bodyweight exercises although I do have a couple lady barbells laying around that I could incorporate.

I have a hypermobile spine but tight hip flexors.  I can't do a proper pushup although I'm not sure I care.  My legs are strong. Mostly I think I need to offset the effects of a desk job.  I would also like to strengthen my back muscles/core more in case it can help stabilize my spine (I'm not really sure if that's a reasonable expectation or not) and to improve my seat on the horse.  I've been doing Pilates on the advice of an old PT but it's not really working for me. 

I've tried the sworkit app but I get annoyed with random exercises thrown at me.  I've done that 7 minute workout before and its OK but I don't really have interest in doing, say, jumping jacks, when I've just spent 90 minutes on the trainer (and then also it ignores problem areas like tight hip flexors). 

I'd love recommendations for other apps, websites, books, anything that can help me put together something simple and repeatable that will just serve to keep me healthy.

I really like this resource, you might find some interesting ideas:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/bodyweight-training-resources/

Essentially rows, inverted rows and/or pull-ups are what you need for you back (I love deadlifts too...) and the push-up is the quintessential upper body exercise(tons of variations based on ability and you can work your way up through progressions). Squats and lunges are great for the lower body, but if you're already happy there then feel free to skip.

First, I love your feedback ETYL.

Second, you've mentioned NerdFitness (hereafter NF) before. I really need to look into that. It's so much easier to commit to something, and never look at anything else...because, well, you've already decided. Any places for me to start?

Bakari

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #501 on: February 15, 2016, 07:17:23 PM »
Popping into this thread for the first time.  Does anyone have advice/resources for putting together a simple bodyweight routine for cross training /injury prevention purposes?

I'm having a surprisingly hard time finding guidelines here, although I can't imagine I'm in a rare situation.  I'm a cyclist who also hikes and rides horses.  I could stand to lose 10 pounds but weight loss is neither a primary nor a secondary goal.  I'm mostly just looking for a cross training routine for injury prevention purposes. 

Because I love my other activities, I don't have a lot of patience for stretching & strengthening (which I don't enjoy), but I want to do it to help keep me active and out of PT.  I don't have any interest in all those HIIT workouts - usually I've just hopped off the bike so my heart rate is already up.  I'm looking for mostly bodyweight exercises although I do have a couple lady barbells laying around that I could incorporate.

I have a hypermobile spine but tight hip flexors.  I can't do a proper pushup although I'm not sure I care.  My legs are strong. Mostly I think I need to offset the effects of a desk job.  I would also like to strengthen my back muscles/core more in case it can help stabilize my spine (I'm not really sure if that's a reasonable expectation or not) and to improve my seat on the horse.  I've been doing Pilates on the advice of an old PT but it's not really working for me. 

I've tried the sworkit app but I get annoyed with random exercises thrown at me.  I've done that 7 minute workout before and its OK but I don't really have interest in doing, say, jumping jacks, when I've just spent 90 minutes on the trainer (and then also it ignores problem areas like tight hip flexors). 

I'd love recommendations for other apps, websites, books, anything that can help me put together something simple and repeatable that will just serve to keep me healthy.


There's a ton of good information in the first two posts in this MMM thread:
http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/off-topic/the-fitness-megathread/


including a large section on bodyweight exercises.


You would probably not want to do Insanity (or most video based workouts), they tend to focus more on cardio, which is what you get the most of already.





There is actually not much science to support the idea that flexibility prevents injury:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9368275
http://www.runnersworld.com/stretching/does-stretching-prevent-injuries
http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/does-stretching-reduce-injury-risk-0


Not sure exactly what you mean by "injury prevention", but one of the most common is lower back, and those are overwhelmingly caused by weak muscles, (not poor flexibility).  The best exercise to strengthen those core muscles is deadlifts ( heavy ones!) 
Just in general, strong muscles protect joints, so whatever area you are weakest (sounds like upper body strength for you) is the place where adding strength exercises can make the biggest difference.  So in order to combat desk job, prevent injury, etc, maybe that's reason to care about being able to do push-ups. But its ok to start small, do the modified ("girl") push-up until you get there.


Essentially rows, inverted rows and/or pull-ups are what you need for you back (I love deadlifts too...)


I agree with her completely (well, aside form the "loving" deadlifts part! I kind of hate them, but its important)








Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #502 on: February 15, 2016, 08:39:45 PM »
Popping into this thread for the first time.  Does anyone have advice/resources for putting together a simple bodyweight routine for cross training /injury prevention purposes?

I'm having a surprisingly hard time finding guidelines here, although I can't imagine I'm in a rare situation.  I'm a cyclist who also hikes and rides horses.  I could stand to lose 10 pounds but weight loss is neither a primary nor a secondary goal.  I'm mostly just looking for a cross training routine for injury prevention purposes. 

Because I love my other activities, I don't have a lot of patience for stretching & strengthening (which I don't enjoy), but I want to do it to help keep me active and out of PT.  I don't have any interest in all those HIIT workouts - usually I've just hopped off the bike so my heart rate is already up.  I'm looking for mostly bodyweight exercises although I do have a couple lady barbells laying around that I could incorporate.

I have a hypermobile spine but tight hip flexors.  I can't do a proper pushup although I'm not sure I care.  My legs are strong. Mostly I think I need to offset the effects of a desk job.  I would also like to strengthen my back muscles/core more in case it can help stabilize my spine (I'm not really sure if that's a reasonable expectation or not) and to improve my seat on the horse.  I've been doing Pilates on the advice of an old PT but it's not really working for me. 

I've tried the sworkit app but I get annoyed with random exercises thrown at me.  I've done that 7 minute workout before and its OK but I don't really have interest in doing, say, jumping jacks, when I've just spent 90 minutes on the trainer (and then also it ignores problem areas like tight hip flexors). 

I'd love recommendations for other apps, websites, books, anything that can help me put together something simple and repeatable that will just serve to keep me healthy.

You might consider going in for an Functional Movement Screen . You'll have to google for your local area, but I've had them done for free several times. The test is designed to score your stability, mobility, and motor patterns for these movements: deep squats, hurdle step, inline lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability quadruped. The person giving the screen will give you recommended exercises to improve your problem areas. I've had 4 screens over the past 2.5 years and each time the exercises have improved my mid line stability (my main weakness). That said, you could just pick a basic exercises from each of the 7 categories, here, and start doing them regularly. Also, if you know you need to improve your spine stability, then you should probably care that you can't do a proper push-up. They require a lot of trunk stability.

I also like this book, Atheltic Body In Balance by Gray Cook, and this book, Foundation by Eric Goodman. Both focus pretty heavily on core and posterior chain strengthening, which is great for desk workers like us!

Finally, I have tight hip flexors and I love the couch stretch (video). This guy's book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, is good for working on flexibility too, but it's definitely crossfit oriented (which could be a turn off).

That's the MobilityWOD guy =) Sorry, tickled me that the recommendation came up from two separate presentations of his work.

Love the Functional Movement links, thank you for those!

horsepoor

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #503 on: February 15, 2016, 09:00:55 PM »
Popping into this thread for the first time.  Does anyone have advice/resources for putting together a simple bodyweight routine for cross training /injury prevention purposes?

I'm having a surprisingly hard time finding guidelines here, although I can't imagine I'm in a rare situation.  I'm a cyclist who also hikes and rides horses.  I could stand to lose 10 pounds but weight loss is neither a primary nor a secondary goal.  I'm mostly just looking for a cross training routine for injury prevention purposes. 

Because I love my other activities, I don't have a lot of patience for stretching & strengthening (which I don't enjoy), but I want to do it to help keep me active and out of PT.  I don't have any interest in all those HIIT workouts - usually I've just hopped off the bike so my heart rate is already up.  I'm looking for mostly bodyweight exercises although I do have a couple lady barbells laying around that I could incorporate.

I have a hypermobile spine but tight hip flexors.  I can't do a proper pushup although I'm not sure I care.  My legs are strong. Mostly I think I need to offset the effects of a desk job.  I would also like to strengthen my back muscles/core more in case it can help stabilize my spine (I'm not really sure if that's a reasonable expectation or not) and to improve my seat on the horse.  I've been doing Pilates on the advice of an old PT but it's not really working for me. 

I've tried the sworkit app but I get annoyed with random exercises thrown at me.  I've done that 7 minute workout before and its OK but I don't really have interest in doing, say, jumping jacks, when I've just spent 90 minutes on the trainer (and then also it ignores problem areas like tight hip flexors). 

I'd love recommendations for other apps, websites, books, anything that can help me put together something simple and repeatable that will just serve to keep me healthy.

You've gotten a ton of advice already, but the book Anatomy for Runners came to mind immediately.   Need to re read it myself.

Hip stretches are a  must for riding. During walk warmup I usually drop my stirrups and really pull my leg back and down.  The movement of the horse helps loosen up the hip flexors in a way I haven't been able to offer the horse.  Just be prepared for muscles wanting to cramp, try to back off and work through it.

fallstoclimb

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #504 on: February 16, 2016, 09:23:16 AM »
Oh wow thank you for all the quick and useful advice!  I have my work cut out for me here.  I added Anatomy for Runners to my library holds -- unfortunately they don't have Athletic Body in Balance. 

Hey F2C, welcome to the thread. I, obviously, love the convict conditioning thing, but I can admit that it can get a bit boring, even though the results are pretty good. Especially considering the slowness of the exercises. To that end, I've chatted with Neila Ray (who is not a mustachian as far as I know), and found that with a touch of imagination, one can make her Hero's Journey pretty fun. Have you tried that? I know Bakari has talked about the video based workouts (and can comment on the crazy amounts of them that I've tried/have), I've found Shaun T's Insanity to be pretty awesome, fun and hard. Hip flexors are a bitch, and I've had some temporary issues with them, but my limited experience with Kettlebell swings tells me they are working them(or I have really bad form).

That being said, what have you tried already?

Also, I'm assuming that when you say 'injury prevention', you don't have any injuries, and want to build muscles to protect your joints. Is that correct?

I do have a history of injuries:  knee, hip flexor & an issue with my scapula/thoracic & cervical spine that I'm still dealing with.  (This is a long story -- PT didn't get me all the way back & my scans were clear -- right now my approach is gabapentin for the nerve tingling & denial for the spine cracking & instability.)  I am hoping if I strengthen my back I may help with the spine instability. PT kind of tried to do this to no avail, but I wasn't ever really thrilled with the exercises. 

The hip flexor is fine now but I know I am prone to tight hips, so this is one thing I do regularly work on.  One knee doesn't track quite correctly (skeletal) which got me to quit running years ago, but it's less of an issue on the bike.  Both knees complain a bit when hiking and mountain biking, sometimes road biking if I do a lot of climbing, but it's not too bad.  As long as I ease into things and ice when I do too much, it's manageable. 

I briefly tried both crossfit and kettlebells and spent about a year and a half lifting at home. Wound up injuring myself in both crossfit and lifting and I sold the weights.  (I said lady barbells in my original post mistakingly -- what I have lying around are just 10 lb dumbbells - the barbells and heavy weights are all gone.)  I liked kettlebells a lot but PT said it was a terrible idea for me. 

Recently I've just been doing a selection of PT exercises for my knee & hip (always try to do those a couple times a week), and then a half-assed attempt at core strengthening via pilates & general strengthening via sworkit.  The latter is not working, mostly from a motivation standpoint.  I do best with a clearly defined simple workout where I don't feel like I'm wasting my time.

I have two main challenges:

1) When I have time to work out, I choose the bike, always.  You mention Insanity -- we do have those DVDs, but realistically I know I'm not going to do those on even a semi-regular basis.  A conditioning and strengthening program requiring hours a week just isn't going to happen.  I'm realistic about my expectations here.  ~20 minutes 4 times a week is about the most time I will give stretching & strengthening.  (And I do think this is enough time for what I am really looking for, but maybe I'm wrong?)

2) Working out goes hand in hand with a risk of injuries by definition.  After the past couple of years I've had, where attempts at injury prevention have resulted in causing injuries that kept me off the bike, I'm going to err on the side of gentler exercises that may not make me as strong / serve as much of a cross training purpose, but won't hurt me themselves.  If I were a pro cyclist, I would have trainers & support and yeah I'd lift heavy weights.  But, it's just me in my basement, and I know where my priorities lie -- on the bike.

If I'm reading right, it sounds like you're looking for injury prevention, which to me says mobility work. I have found mobilityWOD https://www.youtube.com/user/sanfranciscocrossfitto be a wonderful resource, also gymnasticsWOD . MobilityWOD is by a PT, but gymnasticsWOD https://www.youtube.com/user/nakaathletics has a lot on body positioning that has changed how I approach basic movement. Good to be had with both.
(What the hell, gymnasticsWOD rebranded it as "freestyle connection". Whatever, same dude)

You mentioned tight hips- I deal with hyperlordosis, and have found the "Agile Eight" quite helpful. Pretty quick to do, too. https://www.t-nation.com/training/defranco-agile-8 Not sure exactly what you mean by tight hips though, so may not be exactly what you're looking for.

Hope one of those resources helps, and welcome to the thread!

I've looked into mobility workouts before, but because I am a little hypermobile (with the exception of my hips) I'm not sure they are really for me.  However, that Agile Eight looks perfect for my hips -- thanks!  I'm already doing a few of those exercises (avid user of the foam roller), but I will incorporate all of them.  This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.


I really like this resource, you might find some interesting ideas:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/bodyweight-training-resources/

Essentially rows, inverted rows and/or pull-ups are what you need for you back (I love deadlifts too...) and the push-up is the quintessential upper body exercise(tons of variations based on ability and you can work your way up through progressions). Squats and lunges are great for the lower body, but if you're already happy there then feel free to skip.

Thanks, I'll check out Nerd Fitness.  I did look into that a little bit a couple years ago but was focused more on lifting at the time. Unfortunately I can't do pull-ups and have given up on those.  I'll try to see if I can fashion an inverted row set up in my basement -- Im a little nervous about bringing a table down on me though!

Not sure exactly what you mean by "injury prevention", but one of the most common is lower back, and those are overwhelmingly caused by weak muscles, (not poor flexibility).  The best exercise to strengthen those core muscles is deadlifts ( heavy ones!) 
Just in general, strong muscles protect joints, so whatever area you are weakest (sounds like upper body strength for you) is the place where adding strength exercises can make the biggest difference.  So in order to combat desk job, prevent injury, etc, maybe that's reason to care about being able to do push-ups. But its ok to start small, do the modified ("girl") push-up until you get there.

By injury prevention I mean to have a semi-balanced body and to develop some protection against overuse injuries - not, say, get so muscular that it'll help protect me when I inevitably come off a horse or a bike.  I just worry that a desk job (although I do have a standing desk!) + a ton of biking will result in some imbalances that will cause issues down the line.  Although most of my injury prevention approaches have just resulted in injuries...

A bad deadlift is what caused a lot of my injuries, so that's off the table.  I know that I am "wrong" in my reaction to this.  I 100% believe that deadlifts are important.  I also 100% admit fault for the injury -- I did everything I could to try to teach myself proper form in my garage but I'm sure I made a mistake.  I'm also sure I was predisposed to the injury and the deadlift was just the straw that broke the camel's back.  However, unfortunately, I'm not going back to weight lifting.  This spine injury has been one of the worst things I've ever dealt with (given that I'm a young healthy person who absolutely depends on being active outside to stay sane).  It's been two years and I don't think I'm ever going to be back to normal.  I'm never deadlifting again.

I will add the modified girl pushup into my routine.  I hate these and I feel that it is arm strength, not back strength, that is my true limiting factor.  I also seem to never get better at these -- but I will keep trying....

I certainly agree that what I need to address are my weak areas, which is for sure my upper body.


You might consider going in for an Functional Movement Screen . You'll have to google for your local area, but I've had them done for free several times. The test is designed to score your stability, mobility, and motor patterns for these movements: deep squats, hurdle step, inline lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability quadruped. The person giving the screen will give you recommended exercises to improve your problem areas. I've had 4 screens over the past 2.5 years and each time the exercises have improved my mid line stability (my main weakness). That said, you could just pick a basic exercises from each of the 7 categories, here, and start doing them regularly. Also, if you know you need to improve your spine stability, then you should probably care that you can't do a proper push-up. They require a lot of trunk stability.

I also like this book, Atheltic Body In Balance by Gray Cook, and this book, Foundation by Eric Goodman. Both focus pretty heavily on core and posterior chain strengthening, which is great for desk workers like us!

Finally, I have tight hip flexors and I love the couch stretch (video). This guy's book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, is good for working on flexibility too, but it's definitely crossfit oriented (which could be a turn off).

I do the couch stretch as well - agreed, that one is great.  I actually got the Foundation book for my husband this Christmas because he has some more typical lower back issues but I haven't found a whole lot in there for me. 

This functional movement screen sounds AMAZING and perfect for me.  You can get them done for free??  How so?  Do you have to go to a seminar?

You've gotten a ton of advice already, but the book Anatomy for Runners came to mind immediately.   Need to re read it myself.

Hip stretches are a  must for riding. During walk warmup I usually drop my stirrups and really pull my leg back and down.  The movement of the horse helps loosen up the hip flexors in a way I haven't been able to offer the horse.  Just be prepared for muscles wanting to cramp, try to back off and work through it.

I'm trying to imagine this hip stretch -- you move your leg back from the hip, I assume?  Do you do both legs at once?

Do you have any thoracic spine issues from riding?  Mine are caused from other problems, but a couple other women I ride with have similar issues  Riding certainly aggravates it, especially with a more forward/downhill horse, which is one reason I want to strengthen my back.



Thanks again to everyone who took the time to respond -- I was so surprised and excited by all the replies I got to this.  At the very least I have what I need to put together a little routine on my own for the time being!

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #505 on: February 16, 2016, 10:08:29 AM »
All right. I first wanted to say that I have a crap load of work to do on the resource post based on the latest comments. Also, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what just went down in this thread, and the awesomeness that you have all created.

  • A member of the forum pops in here.
  • Said member explains an issue and asks for advice.
  • A plethora of participants in this thread rushed to provide all kinds of useful knowledge.

You all make this an awesome place to be, and I feel honored to be running this gauntlet. Jon_Snow called last year's S&F thread a 'megathread' (and apparently there is an actual one that Bakari posted), and the reason for that is all of you.

Thank you all.

OK, enough of this emotional and being proud stuff. I should have said that you kick ass and move on. Oh well, what happens, happens.

I'm going to combine all of the questions that F2C has been asked and post them here. And I'll PM them to him/her.

While I was writing this, it looks like F2C commented, and pretty much answered all of the questions posed.


Oh wow thank you for all the quick and useful advice!  I have my work cut out for me here.  I added Anatomy for Runners to my library holds -- unfortunately they don't have Athletic Body in Balance. 
That is what we do here!!
Hey F2C, welcome to the thread. I, obviously, love the convict conditioning thing, but I can admit that it can get a bit boring, even though the results are pretty good. Especially considering the slowness of the exercises. To that end, I've chatted with Neila Ray (who is not a mustachian as far as I know), and found that with a touch of imagination, one can make her Hero's Journey pretty fun. Have you tried that? I know Bakari has talked about the video based workouts (and can comment on the crazy amounts of them that I've tried/have), I've found Shaun T's Insanity to be pretty awesome, fun and hard. Hip flexors are a bitch, and I've had some temporary issues with them, but my limited experience with Kettlebell swings tells me they are working them(or I have really bad form).

That being said, what have you tried already?

Also, I'm assuming that when you say 'injury prevention', you don't have any injuries, and want to build muscles to protect your joints. Is that correct?

I do have a history of injuries:  knee, hip flexor & an issue with my scapula/thoracic & cervical spine that I'm still dealing with.  (This is a long story -- PT didn't get me all the way back & my scans were clear -- right now my approach is gabapentin for the nerve tingling & denial for the spine cracking & instability.)  I am hoping if I strengthen my back I may help with the spine instability. PT kind of tried to do this to no avail, but I wasn't ever really thrilled with the exercises. 

The hip flexor is fine now but I know I am prone to tight hips, so this is one thing I do regularly work on.  One knee doesn't track quite correctly (skeletal) which got me to quit running years ago, but it's less of an issue on the bike.  Both knees complain a bit when hiking and mountain biking, sometimes road biking if I do a lot of climbing, but it's not too bad.  As long as I ease into things and ice when I do too much, it's manageable. 
I'm personally not a huge fan of the term 'manageable'. I'm more all about total body healthiness, but I haven't had the injuries you've mentioned, so it could just be that I haven't experienced things that result in constant pain.

I briefly tried both crossfit and kettlebells and spent about a year and a half lifting at home. Wound up injuring myself in both crossfit and lifting and I sold the weights.  (I said lady barbells in my original post mistakingly -- what I have lying around are just 10 lb dumbbells - the barbells and heavy weights are all gone.)  I liked kettlebells a lot but PT said it was a terrible idea for me. 

Recently I've just been doing a selection of PT exercises for my knee & hip (always try to do those a couple times a week), and then a half-assed attempt at core strengthening via pilates & general strengthening via sworkit.  The latter is not working, mostly from a motivation standpoint.  I do best with a clearly defined simple workout where I don't feel like I'm wasting my time.

I have two main challenges:

1) When I have time to work out, I choose the bike, always.  You mention Insanity -- we do have those DVDs, but realistically I know I'm not going to do those on even a semi-regular basis.  A conditioning and strengthening program requiring hours a week just isn't going to happen.  I'm realistic about my expectations here.  ~20 minutes 4 times a week is about the most time I will give stretching & strengthening.  (And I do think this is enough time for what I am really looking for, but maybe I'm wrong?)

2) Working out goes hand in hand with a risk of injuries by definition.  After the past couple of years I've had, where attempts at injury prevention have resulted in causing injuries that kept me off the bike, I'm going to err on the side of gentler exercises that may not make me as strong / serve as much of a cross training purpose, but won't hurt me themselves.  If I were a pro cyclist, I would have trainers & support and yeah I'd lift heavy weights.  But, it's just me in my basement, and I know where my priorities lie -- on the bike.

I get you. I haven't done a lot recently, but I do love me some biking!!

If I'm reading right, it sounds like you're looking for injury prevention, which to me says mobility work. I have found mobilityWOD https://www.youtube.com/user/sanfranciscocrossfitto be a wonderful resource, also gymnasticsWOD . MobilityWOD is by a PT, but gymnasticsWOD https://www.youtube.com/user/nakaathletics has a lot on body positioning that has changed how I approach basic movement. Good to be had with both.
(What the hell, gymnasticsWOD rebranded it as "freestyle connection". Whatever, same dude)

You mentioned tight hips- I deal with hyperlordosis, and have found the "Agile Eight" quite helpful. Pretty quick to do, too. https://www.t-nation.com/training/defranco-agile-8 Not sure exactly what you mean by tight hips though, so may not be exactly what you're looking for.

Hope one of those resources helps, and welcome to the thread!

I've looked into mobility workouts before, but because I am a little hypermobile (with the exception of my hips) I'm not sure they are really for me.  However, that Agile Eight looks perfect for my hips -- thanks!  I'm already doing a few of those exercises (avid user of the foam roller), but I will incorporate all of them.  This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for.


I really like this resource, you might find some interesting ideas:
http://www.nerdfitness.com/bodyweight-training-resources/

Essentially rows, inverted rows and/or pull-ups are what you need for you back (I love deadlifts too...) and the push-up is the quintessential upper body exercise(tons of variations based on ability and you can work your way up through progressions). Squats and lunges are great for the lower body, but if you're already happy there then feel free to skip.

Thanks, I'll check out Nerd Fitness.  I did look into that a little bit a couple years ago but was focused more on lifting at the time. Unfortunately I can't do pull-ups and have given up on those.  I'll try to see if I can fashion an inverted row set up in my basement -- Im a little nervous about bringing a table down on me though!

Not sure exactly what you mean by "injury prevention", but one of the most common is lower back, and those are overwhelmingly caused by weak muscles, (not poor flexibility).  The best exercise to strengthen those core muscles is deadlifts ( heavy ones!) 
Just in general, strong muscles protect joints, so whatever area you are weakest (sounds like upper body strength for you) is the place where adding strength exercises can make the biggest difference.  So in order to combat desk job, prevent injury, etc, maybe that's reason to care about being able to do push-ups. But its ok to start small, do the modified ("girl") push-up until you get there.

By injury prevention I mean to have a semi-balanced body and to develop some protection against overuse injuries - not, say, get so muscular that it'll help protect me when I inevitably come off a horse or a bike.  I just worry that a desk job (although I do have a standing desk!) + a ton of biking will result in some imbalances that will cause issues down the line.  Although most of my injury prevention approaches have just resulted in injuries...

A bad deadlift is what caused a lot of my injuries, so that's off the table.  I know that I am "wrong" in my reaction to this.  I 100% believe that deadlifts are important.  I also 100% admit fault for the injury -- I did everything I could to try to teach myself proper form in my garage but I'm sure I made a mistake.  I'm also sure I was predisposed to the injury and the deadlift was just the straw that broke the camel's back.  However, unfortunately, I'm not going back to weight lifting.  This spine injury has been one of the worst things I've ever dealt with (given that I'm a young healthy person who absolutely depends on being active outside to stay sane).  It's been two years and I don't think I'm ever going to be back to normal.  I'm never deadlifting again.

I will add the modified girl pushup into my routine.  I hate these and I feel that it is arm strength, not back strength, that is my true limiting factor.  I also seem to never get better at these -- but I will keep trying....

I certainly agree that what I need to address are my weak areas, which is for sure my upper body.


You might consider going in for an Functional Movement Screen . You'll have to google for your local area, but I've had them done for free several times. The test is designed to score your stability, mobility, and motor patterns for these movements: deep squats, hurdle step, inline lunge, shoulder mobility, active straight leg raise, trunk stability push-up, and rotary stability quadruped. The person giving the screen will give you recommended exercises to improve your problem areas. I've had 4 screens over the past 2.5 years and each time the exercises have improved my mid line stability (my main weakness). That said, you could just pick a basic exercises from each of the 7 categories, here, and start doing them regularly. Also, if you know you need to improve your spine stability, then you should probably care that you can't do a proper push-up. They require a lot of trunk stability.

I also like this book, Atheltic Body In Balance by Gray Cook, and this book, Foundation by Eric Goodman. Both focus pretty heavily on core and posterior chain strengthening, which is great for desk workers like us!

Finally, I have tight hip flexors and I love the couch stretch (video). This guy's book, Becoming a Supple Leopard, is good for working on flexibility too, but it's definitely crossfit oriented (which could be a turn off).

I do the couch stretch as well - agreed, that one is great.  I actually got the Foundation book for my husband this Christmas because he has some more typical lower back issues but I haven't found a whole lot in there for me. 

This functional movement screen sounds AMAZING and perfect for me.  You can get them done for free??  How so?  Do you have to go to a seminar?

You've gotten a ton of advice already, but the book Anatomy for Runners came to mind immediately.   Need to re read it myself.

Hip stretches are a  must for riding. During walk warmup I usually drop my stirrups and really pull my leg back and down.  The movement of the horse helps loosen up the hip flexors in a way I haven't been able to offer the horse.  Just be prepared for muscles wanting to cramp, try to back off and work through it.

I'm trying to imagine this hip stretch -- you move your leg back from the hip, I assume?  Do you do both legs at once?

Do you have any thoracic spine issues from riding?  Mine are caused from other problems, but a couple other women I ride with have similar issues  Riding certainly aggravates it, especially with a more forward/downhill horse, which is one reason I want to strengthen my back.



Thanks again to everyone who took the time to respond -- I was so surprised and excited by all the replies I got to this.  At the very least I have what I need to put together a little routine on my own for the time being!

Once again, that's what we do here. Welcome again!!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #506 on: February 16, 2016, 10:10:14 AM »

First, I love your feedback ETYL.

Thank you. :)

Second, you've mentioned NerdFitness (hereafter NF) before. I really need to look into that. It's so much easier to commit to something, and never look at anything else...because, well, you've already decided. Any places for me to start?

For NF, I would start here: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/02/28/strength-training-101/ :) It's probably got a lot of stuff you already know, but there should be some new things in there too and it's always nice to revisit topics and reinforce your knowledge.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #507 on: February 16, 2016, 10:44:57 AM »

First, I love your feedback ETYL.

Thank you. :)

Second, you've mentioned NerdFitness (hereafter NF) before. I really need to look into that. It's so much easier to commit to something, and never look at anything else...because, well, you've already decided. Any places for me to start?

For NF, I would start here: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2013/02/28/strength-training-101/ :) It's probably got a lot of stuff you already know, but there should be some new things in there too and it's always nice to revisit topics and reinforce your knowledge.

Thanks!! I'll check it out this week.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #508 on: February 16, 2016, 10:54:37 AM »
I'm starting to think that there might be something amiss with my form when I do dumbbell side laterals. I seem to tweak something in my shoulder every time I do them. The personal trainers in my gym have been trying to make eye contact with me for a while now - I can tell they want to get their hands on me. I'm thinking about enlisting one just to brush up my form on a few exercises I suspect I may be doing incorrectly - dumbbell chest flys seem to hurt something in my shoulder too. :(

EngineerYogi

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #509 on: February 16, 2016, 12:29:22 PM »
I'm starting to think that there might be something amiss with my form when I do dumbbell side laterals. I seem to tweak something in my shoulder every time I do them. The personal trainers in my gym have been trying to make eye contact with me for a while now - I can tell they want to get their hands on me. I'm thinking about enlisting one just to brush up my form on a few exercises I suspect I may be doing incorrectly - dumbbell chest flys seem to hurt something in my shoulder too. :(

Do you warm up the shoulders at all before performing these? These are good for warm-ups, I do them before any upper body training session (chest, shoulders, etc):

http://startingstrength.wikia.com/wiki/File:DC_Training_Shoulder_Stretch 2 sets of 15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAwAOEBNj70 Bad video quality, not exactly well produced, but do 15 reps of each move he shows for 2 sets.


Taking videos of yourself performing lifts can be enlightening too, you might think you're doing it right (or not) and video could show you otherwise or give you an idea of what to fix.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #510 on: February 16, 2016, 03:29:30 PM »
In an odd victory today, I pushed myself enough that my neighbor came over because she heard the noise I made and thought I was throwing up. I was not, I will have it be noted. I also didn't lose form. I'm proud though, because I have a history of letting myself "get away with things". I'll push myself to about 75% on a good day and call it good enough. While I certainly don't feel the need to push myself 90% all the time, reminding myself I CAN was nice.

Legit crazy awesome victory today: I got in a front rack position!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have literally no clue how my mobility improved so much, since I haven't been working on it (whoops, sorry January review promises I made...). But today DH had me do "thumbs on shoulders" and progress from there. I didn't put any weight on the bar, but I did a couple front squats with a proper rack position. Mind blowing. This from the lady who can barely raise her arms above parallel with supinated palms. Still have a long way to go with my lat tightness, but this is a huge improvement, and technically achieves one of my goals. Guess I shoulda upped the ante on that goal!

Workout today:
Warmup: lunge walks
Squats: backsquat up to 5x1 at 135lbs (in lifting shoes)
No deadlifts today
Front rack mobility work
OH: worked clean and jerk form. Wasn't counting, since we were so form focused today, but I think about 15x1 at 65lbs. Getting the proper front rack will help with form on this, but is going to take some tweaking. Mainly worked on the 'first extension' part of the lift today.

Didn't end up doing anything yesterday- it seems like I'm missing at least one workout per week (Tuesday last week, Monday the two weeks before that, etc). Trying not to get down on myself for this- life has been busy enough that I should just be happy I'm still working out twice weekly and seeing progress.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #511 on: February 16, 2016, 07:30:16 PM »


You've gotten a ton of advice already, but the book Anatomy for Runners came to mind immediately.   Need to re read it myself.

Hip stretches are a  must for riding. During walk warmup I usually drop my stirrups and really pull my leg back and down.  The movement of the horse helps loosen up the hip flexors in a way I haven't been able to offer the horse.  Just be prepared for muscles wanting to cramp, try to back off and work through it.


I'm trying to imagine this hip stretch -- you move your leg back from the hip, I assume?  Do you do both legs at once?

Do you have any thoracic spine issues from riding?  Mine are caused from other problems, but a couple other women I ride with have similar issues  Riding certainly aggravates it, especially with a more forward/downhill horse, which is one reason I want to strengthen my back.



Thanks again to everyone who took the time to respond -- I was so surprised and excited by all the replies I got to this.  At the very least I have what I need to put together a little routine on my own for the time being!

Yes, I bring both legs back and try to keep knees pointing forward and seat bones connected to the saddle.  I'll pull my hamstring back if needed to keep the thigh flat against their horse.  If it's too difficult you can bring one leg back at a time to start. The next level up is to swing one lower leg back and grab your ankle to stretch more of the front part of the hip/groin, but my hamstrings often threaten to cramp when I try that one.

No back problems yet with riding.  Hopefully that holds true with sitting trot on my new warm blood as I hit my 40s.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #512 on: February 17, 2016, 05:22:58 PM »
~20 minutes 4 times a week is about the most time I will give stretching & strengthening.  (And I do think this is enough time for what I am really looking for, but maybe I'm wrong?)


I think that sounds reasonable, particularly if it follows a ride so that you don't have to spend time warming up


Quote
2) Working out goes hand in hand with a risk of injuries by definition.  After the past couple of years I've had, where attempts at injury prevention have resulted in causing injuries that kept me off the bike, I'm going to err on the side of gentler exercises that may not make me as strong / serve as much of a cross training purpose, but won't hurt me themselves.  If I were a pro cyclist, I would have trainers & support and yeah I'd lift heavy weights.  But, it's just me in my basement, and I know where my priorities lie -- on the bike.
fair enough.  I'm no professional trainer, but I doubt there is any way to quantify any "correct" balance between risk of being injured by the exercise itself and getting strong enough to prevent other injuries.  For most regular average people it is much more toward the heavy exercise side, for a lot of enthusiastic athletes its more to the gentle side.  But since you have special considerations from past injuries, finding the balance will be even harder. 
Be suspicious of anyone, whether a doctor or a trainer or anyone else who claims with confidence to know exactly the right balance for you.


Not sure exactly what you mean by "injury prevention", but one of the most common is lower back, and those are overwhelmingly caused by weak muscles, (not poor flexibility).  The best exercise to strengthen those core muscles is deadlifts ( heavy ones!) 
Just in general, strong muscles protect joints, so whatever area you are weakest (sounds like upper body strength for you) is the place where adding strength exercises can make the biggest difference.  So in order to combat desk job, prevent injury, etc, maybe that's reason to care about being able to do push-ups. But its ok to start small, do the modified ("girl") push-up until you get there.

Quote
By injury prevention I mean to have a semi-balanced body and to develop some protection against overuse injuries - not, say, get so muscular that it'll help protect me when I inevitably come off a horse or a bike.  I just worry that a desk job (although I do have a standing desk!) + a ton of biking will result in some imbalances that will cause issues down the line.  Although most of my injury prevention approaches have just resulted in injuries...

A bad deadlift is what caused a lot of my injuries, so that's off the table.  I know that I am "wrong" in my reaction to this.  I 100% believe that deadlifts are important.  I also 100% admit fault for the injury -- I did everything I could to try to teach myself proper form in my garage but I'm sure I made a mistake.  I'm also sure I was predisposed to the injury and the deadlift was just the straw that broke the camel's back.


Well, with all those caveats, there's nothing left to say!! :-)
I totally understand.  I've done the same thing (though not as bad) - I once tried to go up too much on a deadlift, had bad form, and was basically crippled for days, in moderate pain for weeks, and it took months to get back to normal.
After that I was scared to do it at all, and I don't think I did for probably a couple years.  When I finally did, I started way on the safe side, doing much less than I could have, and even today, many years later, my deadlift trails my other lifts by a lot in what is expected by the fitness charts for my age gender and level of training.


Of course, working as a hauler / mover / construction guy, the risk to me of letting my back get weak is higher than that of the exercise in the long run.  Its more often people who don't exercise at all, and then one day they have to move some furniture up a flight of stairs that get hurt the most...
If nothing else, I'd recommend to try to start paying close attention to how you lift anything, ever, or even reach down to floor level.  I've been  noticing that most people by default bend at the waist and rarely at the knees.  And then that becomes habit, so when they pick up something heavy they do the same thing.  If you are picking up a coin, or cleaning a spill, whatever, try to get in the habit of bending at the knee and keeping your back upright, just like how you would do a proper deadlift. 


Quote

I will add the modified girl pushup into my routine.  I hate these and I feel that it is arm strength, not back strength, that is my true limiting factor.  I also seem to never get better at these -- but I will keep trying....

I certainly agree that what I need to address are my weak areas, which is for sure my upper body.


Just add some pull-ups and you get most of your upper body with no weights.  Unfortunately no really great modification, with no equipment many suggest just trying to hang as long as possible as a progression. There's also starting with feet and the floor and jumping for some momentum, and then finishing with arms.
« Last Edit: February 19, 2016, 06:27:45 PM by Bakari »

hudsoncat

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #513 on: February 18, 2016, 09:01:31 AM »

Any ideas of how I can keep them from hurting, ways to stretch the inside of the calf muscles, or thoughts on what I might be doing wrong?

Rolling it with a ball is a great suggestion. If it continues to be an issue though, check out your shoes. Wearing the correct shoes for your stride? Wearing old shoes that have broken down a bit? I started C25K in an old pair of cross trainers I'd had for a while and was amazed when a friend talked me into going to a running store to be properly fitted. Running overall felt better afterwards.

The sticker shock hurt a bit the first couple of times, but now that I have a good idea what works for me and what doesn't I pick up last year's model online at a pretty good discount.

Exhale

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #514 on: February 18, 2016, 11:07:09 AM »
Finally a success: walked to/from work (4 miles RT). This is the first time since my injury in August. Hope to be able to do this M-F going forward.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #515 on: February 18, 2016, 11:17:04 AM »
Checking in, still working on catching up after 10 days off the web.

This month started out strong (6 days/week of going to the gym) but last week I was at an intensive training that was 17+ hours/day and any work out time was equivalent to lost sleep.
I only made it to the gym 4 times for 25 minutes each. There wasn't much space or equipment, so mostly I just did treadmill, modified burpees (wrist extension probz), and pull-ups.  None of the workouts felt very good or even well-organized because I was so sleep-deprived. This is why I like classes more than self-directed workouts.

I flew back Monday and promptly got really sick. Sick enough going to the gym is NOT an option. Perhaps tomorrow will be the first day all week I can go to the gym, but breathing is going to be hard still. I'm really bummed about this, because I don't want to lose steam on working out especially when I'm still shelling out $$ for the fancy ClassPass this month.


big_owl

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #516 on: February 19, 2016, 06:23:26 PM »
I'm starting to think that there might be something amiss with my form when I do dumbbell side laterals. I seem to tweak something in my shoulder every time I do them. The personal trainers in my gym have been trying to make eye contact with me for a while now - I can tell they want to get their hands on me. I'm thinking about enlisting one just to brush up my form on a few exercises I suspect I may be doing incorrectly - dumbbell chest flys seem to hurt something in my shoulder too. :(

1. Do you keep your arms almost straight when you do them?  If yes, then stop and try bending your arm to almost a 90 degree angle.  You'll have to lift heavier due to the leverage advantage of your bent arm, however more importantly you might find the pain goes away.

2. Skip the DB pec flys.  They're useless and put far more stress on your shoulders than a conventional bench press.  I don't know why anybody bothers with them.  Take a look at your humorous when you do them - it's basically the exact same motion as benching.

use2betrix

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #517 on: February 19, 2016, 06:33:43 PM »
Lifting and diet had been flawless despite working 13 days on, 1 off, all 10 hour shifts. Haven't missed a workout or cardio yet this year (lift 4 days a week with 20 min cardio after) and also have had my diet spot on. We do have a decent cheat meal every other weekend.

I dropped below 200 lbs for the first time in years this week. For most people it's a great thing, and it has been a goal for me, but I did look better and have less BF when I was about 215 lbs 18 months ago. After slacking the first part of last year too much I'm getting my BF back down then working my way back up muscle wise.

I'm unsure how much I want to drop, next goal is 195 then I will re-evaluate. I am surprised how much more muscular I look at 200lbs now than 220 lbs in early December. While I'm slightly smaller, the vascularity and muscle definition has gone through the roof which has made a big difference.

I'll be getting a full blood panel done in a few weeks to see where my numbers are at. I go to www.privatemdlabs.com and can pick the bloodwork I want, they'll send the request into a center, I go get blood draw , then they email me the results.

None of the crap of seeing the doctor, him setting up a separate appointment for blood drawn, doing that, then going back to the doctor when the results are in for him to tell you a fraction of the info about your bloodwork as you can find online. For $150 I can get a very extensive blood panel done. I've had some cholesterol issues in that past when I was bulking up hard so that's something I keep
An eye on. Now that my weight is dropping and I upped the cardio it'll be interesting to see the changes.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #518 on: February 20, 2016, 11:27:15 AM »
I'm starting to think that there might be something amiss with my form when I do dumbbell side laterals. I seem to tweak something in my shoulder every time I do them. The personal trainers in my gym have been trying to make eye contact with me for a while now - I can tell they want to get their hands on me. I'm thinking about enlisting one just to brush up my form on a few exercises I suspect I may be doing incorrectly - dumbbell chest flys seem to hurt something in my shoulder too. :(

1. Do you keep your arms almost straight when you do them?  If yes, then stop and try bending your arm to almost a 90 degree angle.  You'll have to lift heavier due to the leverage advantage of your bent arm, however more importantly you might find the pain goes away.

2. Skip the DB pec flys.  They're useless and put far more stress on your shoulders than a conventional bench press.  I don't know why anybody bothers with them.  Take a look at your humorous when you do them - it's basically the exact same motion as benching.

Thanks for the advice. Upon reflection, I probably do keep my arms too straight when doing side laterals...especially for the weights I use. I will attempt to change things up.

I see a lot of advanced-level type people doing the DB pec flys...but perhaps they are just not a good idea for me. Cable crossovers probably are good enough...combined, as you say, with the good 'ol bench press.

Going for 10k run today with DW...a bit too much red wine last night has me feeling a distinct lack of desire to do this right now. :/

horsepoor

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #519 on: February 20, 2016, 12:46:46 PM »
Felt like crap for no apparent reason and missed two workouts this week.  Did a light strength training session last night, then an 8.4 mile slow run this morning.  The run felt a little rough at first, but once I got in the groove it was easy.  Beautiful day and I had a good hour of just cruising along easily enough to get lost in thought instead of focusing on muscling through the run.

I got my bib for Robie Creek (it sold out in 12 minutes this year), so it's ON.  Need to add hill repeats to one of my weeknight runs.

big_owl

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #520 on: February 20, 2016, 03:15:05 PM »
I'm starting to think that there might be something amiss with my form when I do dumbbell side laterals. I seem to tweak something in my shoulder every time I do them. The personal trainers in my gym have been trying to make eye contact with me for a while now - I can tell they want to get their hands on me. I'm thinking about enlisting one just to brush up my form on a few exercises I suspect I may be doing incorrectly - dumbbell chest flys seem to hurt something in my shoulder too. :(

1. Do you keep your arms almost straight when you do them?  If yes, then stop and try bending your arm to almost a 90 degree angle.  You'll have to lift heavier due to the leverage advantage of your bent arm, however more importantly you might find the pain goes away.

2. Skip the DB pec flys.  They're useless and put far more stress on your shoulders than a conventional bench press.  I don't know why anybody bothers with them.  Take a look at your humorous when you do them - it's basically the exact same motion as benching.

Thanks for the advice. Upon reflection, I probably do keep my arms too straight when doing side laterals...especially for the weights I use. I will attempt to change things up.

I see a lot of advanced-level type people doing the DB pec flys...but perhaps they are just not a good idea for me. Cable crossovers probably are good enough...combined, as you say, with the good 'ol bench press.

Going for 10k run today with DW...a bit too much red wine last night has me feeling a distinct lack of desire to do this right now. :/

Don't be alarmed if you have to go a lot heavier once you bend your arms.  You'll also find it puts less stress on your brachioradialis. 

Mostly "advanced" types just do DB flyes because Arnold preached them as gospel and they all want to have pecs like he did.  Some people can do them fine but many end up injured.  Because your bicep has a lot of tension on it when doing DB flyes, it puts a lot of stress on the upper tendon of the long head of the biceps and can cause tendon pain where it passes through the bicipital groove.  With cable flyes you have a lot more flexibility in the positioning of the arm and you can avoid the pain, so you can probably keep doing them.  However, don't do any fly movements until your shoulder pain is completely gone - stick with presses and even then only add one fly motion and see how it affects your shoulders.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #521 on: February 21, 2016, 01:42:39 AM »
First triathlon of the year today and I not only podiumed, I came second! My first podium ever. Pretty excited about that, let me tell you. :D

Apparently training for competitive sports works. Who'da thought?

horsepoor

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #522 on: February 21, 2016, 08:05:40 AM »
Way to go Primm!  I am super impressed by triathletes.  I can run, but I'd either drown or fall of the bike.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #523 on: February 21, 2016, 08:52:11 AM »
Woo! Way to go Primm!

jordanread

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #524 on: February 21, 2016, 08:54:53 AM »
Primm... Kicking ass,taking names, and podiuming. Congrats!!

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #525 on: February 21, 2016, 03:45:39 PM »
Put me down for my first "injury" for the year. Really minor, but still annoying. Working thrusters and then working on snatch position, and I gave myself what is essentially a carpet burn on the inside of my upper arms. So this will undoubtedly hurt like hell for work- it's right where my scrub sleeves end, so prime chafing territory.

Pretty good workout. Decided to go for technique instead of strength since I'm getting over a cold- wanted to get some movement to help bust up my congestion without over doing it. I did front squats (yay), just the bar. Front rack position still working, which still astounds me. My wrists got extremely tired though. I've had incredibly weak wrists ever since beating the crap out of them with competitive gymnastics when I was younger.

Anyone have wrist advice? Either strengthening, or recovery, anything like that? I have never looked into anything for wrists, always just been knees, ankles, hips, and back.

Also worked on form for thrusters and snatches. DH once again was simultaneously proud and annoyed at my mobility. Kept weight very light. Decided to call the workout after my arms-meet-knees-meet-rugburn incident.

Primm

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #526 on: February 21, 2016, 05:07:49 PM »
Stonking great piece of tegaderm on the burns, or some sort of film dressing. I'm guessing if you wear scrubs for work you have access to something for that?!

As for the wrists, I feel you but I have no advice, sorry. I fell off a horse when I was 12 and have had several corrective surgeries in my left wrist. That's one reason I've never got into heavy weights training. It's not the strength (of my big muscles), it's the ability to hold the bar. I've had many years of rehab type treatment and nothing has helped.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #527 on: February 21, 2016, 05:18:04 PM »
Stonking great piece of tegaderm on the burns, or some sort of film dressing. I'm guessing if you wear scrubs for work you have access to something for that?!

As for the wrists, I feel you but I have no advice, sorry. I fell off a horse when I was 12 and have had several corrective surgeries in my left wrist. That's one reason I've never got into heavy weights training. It's not the strength (of my big muscles), it's the ability to hold the bar. I've had many years of rehab type treatment and nothing has helped.

But tegaderm is so spendy.... sigh. You're right though, it would be a good idea. Luckily I'm not in a hospital, so MRSA and similar is less likely, but it's still probably good practice to cover it up even if it's not really an open wound per se. Bleh, time to go dig out my tegaderm.

Ugh, sorry to hear about the wrist weak point. It does slow down my listing progress, that's for sure. The biggest help I ever found for my wrists was wearing braces at night. I curl them over when I sleep and weaken them a lot. A couple night a month in the braces "remind" my sleep-self to stop curling them.

But yeah, wrists seem so static, like there isn't much you can do for them once they're messed up =\

use2betrix

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #528 on: February 21, 2016, 07:04:58 PM »
Look more into forearm training. The forearms do a lot to support the wrist. I had wrist surgery when I was younger and don't have the same flexibility in my left wrist.

Because of this, there's a few lifts I just avoid, like regular front squats, unless I cross my arms. Overhead squats as well.

Unless it's "all" exercises, I'd avoid the ones that put especially more strain on your wrist. No singular exercise is so important that it can't be worked around by other means.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #529 on: February 21, 2016, 07:25:27 PM »
Anyone have wrist advice? Either strengthening, or recovery, anything like that?

Maybe related/helpful?  I had cubital tunnel (which is similar to the more common carpel tunnel).  Anyways I used these (starting with the Red and going to the green):
http://www.amazon.com/TheraBand-Resistance-Improving-Strength-Tendonitis/dp/B0002ECYRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1456107301&sr=8-1&keywords=therapy+bar

Main exercise is hear around 4:30:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we4UoiKG3Co
Starts right away: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsKGbqA9aNo

Haven't done these yet, but they look similar to other exercises I do with the Theraband:
http://breakingmuscle.com/mobility-recovery/7-exercises-to-maximize-hand-wrist-and-forearm-strength

Bakari

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #530 on: February 21, 2016, 07:25:41 PM »
I don't know anything about recovering from old injuries, but in general my grip strength improved tremendously when I started moving furniture on a regular basis.  I had lifted for years, but holding a barbell is just too "easy" - or at least unnaturally disproportionate.  If you can find something to use, I'd suggest lifting more irregularly shaped and balanced objects - giant sand bags, barrels, truck tires, sofas. And turn them around, hold them at weird angles.  Fitting a sofabed in a doorway at the top of the stairs does wonders, though that may not be practical for a weekly workout routine...


"bouldering" at the local rock climbing gym would be another way.


Then of course there's the old standbys, wrist curl pullups, or the weighted twisting of a bar thing



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wVvR8y5cdM


which is pretty cheap and easy to make a improvised version of.

Oh, and also: if you are lifting and your grip strength is the weak point: just keep doing that exercise! You are still strengthening something, even if it isn't what the exercise is "supposed" to be targeting. 
« Last Edit: February 21, 2016, 07:29:20 PM by Bakari »

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #531 on: February 21, 2016, 07:50:41 PM »
Thanks for all the feedback guys! I'm going to see how well my wrists recover from today's adventures before moving on. Since I am so new to actually being able to get a front rack, I hope it's just my wrists getting used to the motions. I suppose I could avoid, as Trixr mentioned, but then where is the fun in that ;) I have a bad habit of finding the one thing I CAN'T do, and pushing myself to try and do it. Very psychologically healthy, I'm sure! </sarcasm>

I definitely need grip strength improvement. It's better than most women's, I'm sure, but not up to the level I want it to be. It's funny, I used to do a lot of grip work when I was shooting when I was younger, but haven't worked on it in years.

Oh, and because I just did this and then mentally kicked myself, a little nurse PSA: please do not take ibuprofen then drink. It's really hard on your organs, for reals guys. Even just a couple ibu and one drink does temporary damage for a normal person, which is not to mention what happens if you do this on an ongoing basis or have other health problems ('comorbidities'). And just in general, please please don't go above the recommended dosages for NSAIDs. I know  a lot of people who feel like it "doesn't work" unless they're taking 5 or 6 at a time. It can cause stomach bleeds which can lead to iron deficiency, it can cause damage to the kidneys, etc. No bueno. Not to mention, there's a heavy discussion in the literature if NSAIDs reduce your Gainzzzzz.

Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but I figured since this is a fitness thread, there's plenty of sore people on here! And it's a "substance abuse" I see more than just about any other within my generation (millenials). You guys are awesome and I don't want any of you to have bleedy stomachs and other bad stuff =\

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #532 on: February 21, 2016, 08:04:56 PM »
Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but I figured since this is a fitness thread, there's plenty of sore people on here! And it's a "substance abuse" I see more than just about any other within my generation (millenials). You guys are awesome and I don't want any of you to have bleedy stomachs and other bad stuff =\
Oof...You're scaring me a little. I took 500 MG/2 times a day of naproxen for a decade for RA (I'm finally off now that I'm on Expensive Miracle drug). I always took it with food, was good about it, blah blah blah, never had any noticeable problems. But after 7 months off of the daily naproxen routine, I'm having unexplainable stomach pains this week... Maybe I should call my rheumy if they keep up. Since I've been off the naproxen for so long, I've stopped thinking about stomach pains as a possible NSAID-related issue. But hmm..

Okay, this probably isn't "Bracken_Joy acts like monstermonster's internet doctor". Should probably call my doctor.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #533 on: February 21, 2016, 08:22:19 PM »
Sorry for the unsolicited advice, but I figured since this is a fitness thread, there's plenty of sore people on here! And it's a "substance abuse" I see more than just about any other within my generation (millenials). You guys are awesome and I don't want any of you to have bleedy stomachs and other bad stuff =\
Oof...You're scaring me a little. I took 500 MG/2 times a day of naproxen for a decade for RA (I'm finally off now that I'm on Expensive Miracle drug). I always took it with food, was good about it, blah blah blah, never had any noticeable problems. But after 7 months off of the daily naproxen routine, I'm having unexplainable stomach pains this week... Maybe I should call my rheumy if they keep up. Since I've been off the naproxen for so long, I've stopped thinking about stomach pains as a possible NSAID-related issue. But hmm..

Okay, this probably isn't "Bracken_Joy acts like monstermonster's internet doctor". Should probably call my doctor.

Sorry for causing any panic =( The occult blood test for stool is super easy and quick though! And when in doubt, follow up. It's usually fine- people are shockingly resilient. But it's always a good idea to keep an eye on things. Basically, I think medical stuff follows the "assume the best, but prepare for the worst" except in this case it's "check for the worst if your doctor thinks it's indicated". Lol. I would still follow up if you're concerned, but 500mg twice a day isn't all that high though TBH. What I was talking about is this: If you figure most tabs come as 200mg, and I see people popping 6 at a time every 4-6hrs, we're talking 1200mg at a time, easily 3 or 4 times per day. That's 4800mg a day. Now you're talking worrying numbers. 1000mg per day is pretty small. IIRC, it's something like up to 3200mg/day is considered a 'sustainable dose' depending on the patient's medical history. I know for pediatrics (kids) the rule of thumb I see a lot is "NTE" (not to exceed) 40mg/kg/day. Dunno for adults though, sorry! Depends on medical history anyway though.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #534 on: February 22, 2016, 08:14:59 AM »
Great good Primm!

Week... whatever week this is... check-in:

  • 4 runs
  • 1 lovely bike ride
  • 1 round of yoga
  • 1 round of strength training

I've been nursing a sore hamstring this week. Easy, easy runs (and shorter than planned distance) and an easy, easy bike ride did not seem to bother it too much, but the squats/lunges of Ironstrength for Runners did. I mostly did the upper body workouts and threw in some extra core work (that I probably should be doing anyway) and extra upper body only work. Pool is closed for another week while they work to open the new Y.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #535 on: February 22, 2016, 09:40:02 AM »
I have a hypermobile spine but tight hip flexors.  I can't do a proper pushup although I'm not sure I care.  My legs are strong. Mostly I think I need to offset the effects of a desk job.  I would also like to strengthen my back muscles/core more in case it can help stabilize my spine (I'm not really sure if that's a reasonable expectation or not) and to improve my seat on the horse.  I've been doing Pilates on the advice of an old PT but it's not really working for me. 

For some reason, a thought came to me last night regarding this particular question, and I jumped ahead a few steps on the back bridges bit of Convict Conditioning, to see if I was correct. There is  a link in the resource post that focuses on this exercise, but I wanted to add a quote from the book. Oh, and it turns out doing a full back bridge (step 5) does affect the hip flexors too. This might help with what you are looking into (as if you don't have enough things to try already).

Quote from: Paul Wade
[...]Because of it’s paramount importance for health and survival, the spinal column has been well-protected by evolution. It is encased in a thick pillar of flexible, articulated armor consisting of dense individual bones jointed by tough cartilage. These individual bones are the vertebrae, and the cartilage pieces are called intervertebral discs, or simply discs (as in the term “slipped disc”). The whole bony pillar is known as the spinal column. The spinal column is further protected by a network of connected ligaments and a sophisticated deep layer of muscles which control the movements of the spine. There are more than thirty pairs of basic spinal muscles. (Lack of space prevents me from listing them all and describing their functions. Interested trainees should pick up a copy of Gray’s Anatomy.) Far from functioning separately, all these spinal muscles are molded into two thick, powerful, snake-like tubes bordering the spine. These muscle groups are called the erector spinae, or spinal erectors.
These twin pillars of muscle form the first line of defense against spinal injuries. In a very basic way, they function as a dense corset of flesh which protects the spinal column against accidents and danger from sharp or blunt objects. In a more dynamic sense, they also control the movement of the spine generally; they ensure that the vertebrae follow a range of motion that protects the spinal cord as well as dictating all spinal motions.

Also, for the miscellaneous injuries people have talked about, I have this sense that working a guided stretch (with either a yoga ball, a small ball, or a foam roller) would help with the issues that were brought up. Does anyone have experience with those? I've only messed with a yoga ball when my back was tight or something, not injured. I imagine a racquet or tennis ball could help with the wrist (although not help with strength).

Oh, and Bracken_Joy, thanks for the info.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #536 on: February 23, 2016, 04:47:38 PM »
Deadlift day! New PR by 5lbs. 165lbs. Tried for 170, failed x3 (including trying mixed grip). DH gave a one-handed boost at takeoff and I completed the lift, but it doesn't really count.

Warmup: lunges
No squats today
Front rack: stepped under 95lbs and held 5 seconds, then dropped. Just getting my arms used to the weight in the position.
OH: 2x4 strict press at 45lbs (bar)
DL: 1x1 165, 2x5 95lbs

Good workout. I only work the next 2 days, then I get a 7 day stretch off work next week (hallelujah), so I plan to fit in lots of workouts and hikes if I can. Only being able to work out 2-3 days (in a row) per week puts a major damper on progress.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #537 on: February 24, 2016, 04:21:02 PM »
It's been a pretty productive week so far with my back and chest workouts. And all my Chin-Up 'negatives' have really paid off, I could only do a couple Chin-Ups with good form two months ago when I started, but last weekend I did several sets of 4 without going to failure, and one set of 5 later in the day.  That's pretty good considering I've bulked 9 pounds since the beginning of January too.  I'm pretty confident that I'll hit 6-7 tomorrow when I work lats.  I've been doing T-Bar rows and using the Lat Pulldown machines as assistance exercises and have been progressing well on them as well. Looking forward to adding weight to my Chin-Ups in a month or so! 

Even though I don't interact in conversations on here much if any, it's been great to have the pressure of holding myself accountable for going to the gym.

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #538 on: February 24, 2016, 05:23:27 PM »
DW and I signed up for a half marathon in early June...this will hopefully be the first of 3 I do this year. We went for a 10k run this past weekend...and I don't want to jinx myself...but...it felt REALLY good. We did it in about 55 minutes...and I had more to give. My longer stride vs. Lady Snow's (6'4" height vs. 5'7") prevents me from getting into the gear I'd like to sometimes...but that's okay...marriage harmony trumps all. We run side by side for now. Might be a different case when I'm trying to post a time at some future event.

I am very pleased with my improved cardio and strength...my current plan of incorporating ample amounts of both types of training (cardio and strength) might mean I may not become an elite runner or a muscle bound specimen...but I am loving the BALANCE I am feeling and acheiving in both areas. I love that I can hike up a mountain or run a long distance with minimal trauma...and also be lean and strong. I don't think I've ever felt this healthy. Ever.

My legs, now that I've started to pay attention to training them properly are responding well...quickly starting to close the long existing gap with my upper body development (dat kayaking). Perhaps I won't be quite as sheepish when I pull into a beach this Summer and swing my (previously toothpick-ish) legs out from beneath the deck of my kayak. ;)

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #539 on: February 24, 2016, 05:46:53 PM »
I found an old weighted jump rope last week, and today I decided to use it for my warm up. Holy crap that is effective at getting my heart rate up. Within a minute I was warmed up (which is probably more due to not doing much intense cardio). Much more time efficient. I think I'm going to try to increase my warm up by 15 seconds every day, just as an additional little bit. I'm also reading Becoming a Supple leopard, and may incorporate some of that stuff for my off days. Unfortunately, I'm still not quite flexible enough (or not tight enough around the mid-section) to get my knees to my forehead for the shoulder stand squats, so I haven't progressed on that front. It makes me a little sad, since I know I can do everything through step 6 on that exercise, but I committed to doing this 'right'. Diet is moving along nicely (meaning not drinking), and I'm down >10lbs from when I did my baseline. I might actually be under 200lbs, just not enough shrinkage around the gut to get the flexibility I want for the shoulderstand squats. Still loving it though. This journey is way more fun than last year.

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #540 on: February 24, 2016, 06:26:38 PM »
Check-in:
Loving exercise again goal: I signed up for a 30 day trial at a nearby yoga studio and have been consistently going 3x a week. Really really loving it and can feel my form and flexibility increasing with each session. For bonus points they also have work-friendly sessions so I can continue once I return to work (started the job-hunt this week).
Deadlift 1.5x BW goal: started 5x5 training again, and did 45kg on my deadlifts today. Being a little cautious as my partner tweaked a muscle last week doing deadlifts. Slow and steady will get me there.
Unassisted Pull-up goal: am using the assisted pull-up machine at the gym. Today did 5x3 with 40kg of assist, with very slow negatives. Next session I'll drop another 2.5kg of the assist. 
 


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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #541 on: February 27, 2016, 10:38:41 AM »
    Checking in:
    • Complete a 5K run
    Done.  Ran it today, my final time was 0:30:41.  I think it's an okay time?  I was in the top quarter of all the runners competing, middle of the pack for guys running, and 9th place out of 13 for my gender/age bracket.  Thinking of doing a 5k mud run, a 10k, and/or a 5k zombie run.  With the goal of beating my previous time.

    • 1 set/5 pullup (Stretch: 1set/>10 pullups)
    Haven't been actively working on this goal besides all-around strength training, but I can do 3.

    • Drop weight to 145lbs
    Current weight: 162lbs.

« Last Edit: February 27, 2016, 04:56:28 PM by RonMcCord »

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #542 on: February 27, 2016, 02:02:38 PM »
Well, workout started out well enough. Cut short because my neighbor started a giant burn pile up and I started having some really sweet bronchospams. Wee. Albuterol counts as MetCon since it raises HR... right? ;)

Warmup: bar squat, working on pause squats without the pad, hoping I can eventually do without
Squat: backsquat, worked up to 135 (my current max) 2x1
DL: none
OH: Clean and jerk, worked on incorporating the front rack more smoothly. 65lb.

Also had the excitement of a neighbor (different neighbor) deciding to use our car port to turn around in and nearly hitting me. That was also quite exciting.

horsepoor

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #543 on: February 27, 2016, 05:00:31 PM »
Feeling like I have my running mojo back.  Did a 9.4 miles long slow run today.  5 mile runs are no longer a problem.  Now to start picking up the pace a bit.

Inspired by Bracken, I'm working on pistol squats too.  I have to give myself a little support towards the bottom, but hoping to get there in the next couple months.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #544 on: February 27, 2016, 05:11:03 PM »
Feeling like I have my running mojo back.  Did a 9.4 miles long slow run today.  5 mile runs are no longer a problem.  Now to start picking up the pace a bit.

Inspired by Bracken, I'm working on pistol squats too.  I have to give myself a little support towards the bottom, but hoping to get there in the next couple months.

Woohoo! We need to get action shots back. Feel free to post progress photos on the pistols! =D

I need to try my pistols again and see how many I'm at. Assisted pull-ups (using high tech machinery known as "my husband holding my legs") has been my latest focus, haha.

AcftW

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #545 on: February 27, 2016, 07:10:57 PM »
Eight weeks of lifting done, and I feel great.  Definitely going to stick with it.

I'm taking a week off for rest and travel/moving (it's nice how they both lined up with each other).  My biggest challenge is going to be eating 3,200 calories a day while in the transition mode.  And I'm looking at gyms in the new area..

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #546 on: February 28, 2016, 09:06:41 AM »
Grateful for the thread. Between my kid's newly limited access to school and travel for a funeral, my plan was at very high risk. No guarantees, but with two days left in the month, I have only two sessions left to do :)

I wouldn't have pulled this off were it not for this thread. With it, I drove to two pools in a new town today, kid in tow, and swam the lengths I could fit in before the funeral.

Swimming has become "necessary" feeling. Very soothing, a great reset for me physically and mentally, my body misses it after 24 hours without.

Internet strangers are proud of you! =)

Jon_Snow

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #547 on: February 28, 2016, 08:43:56 PM »
DW (affectionately referred to as Lady Snow 'round these parts) and I went for another 10k run today. It was cold and windy, but the rain held off and we managed a decent time of 56 minutes. Any residents of the 'burbs east of Vancouver are probably familiar with Burnaby Lake park...it's our "go to" 10k trail run route.

Back to the gym tomorrow for strength stuff...and I might just give cardio a complete miss...as I am sitting here typing this my legs are protesting loudly against the idea of inflicting more abuse upon them so soon. Fine then. Upper body stuff...shoulders, chest and triceps.

And Big_Owl, if you end up reading this...your advice to ease up on the dumbbell chest flys seems to have done the trick in terms of eliminating my shoulder issue. Thanks for that. :)

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #548 on: February 28, 2016, 08:58:47 PM »
Made it out for a quick 2.6 mile loop hike with DH this morning. There were many birds and I was licked by two puppies. A good day!

monstermonster

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Re: Strength & Fitness 2016
« Reply #549 on: February 28, 2016, 09:42:28 PM »
February report back! I was traveling for a week (lucky there was a gym at the hotel) and then I was sick for four days, but I got a decent amount in regardless.

Strength training classes x 7
Running x 4
Pilates x 3
Dance-specific strength/stretching x 2
Barre Class x 3
Stretching/Roller x 3
-------------------------
Total workouts: 21 (18.5 hours)

The Classpass thing is still doing a great job of meeting my want-someone-to-tell-me-what-to-do needs and I've been going often enough that it's actually been reasonably low marginal cost per class (about $4.50/class).

I had a thought this week about why these high-end fitness classes are appealing to me so much - even as a former elite athlete, I always had someone telling me what to do. Sure, I had to do self-motivated training on my own, but I had a partner and main coach and power coach and  ballet master and group plyometrics instructor. (These are some expensive years of training I've got, let me tell you.) So even though I had plenty of self-motivated training, I always had a "plan" given to me by someone else - or at least my partner pushing me. Trying to get back in 1/2 as good of shape as I was back when I was training 25-40 hours/week is actually pretty hard without SOME guidance, and it turns out I already know how to work in an environment with a coach.  So I'm sort of understanding the draw to these high-end classes. For now, I'm letting the $79/month expense be justified.