In Fitness and in Health
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I’ve been targeting 300 weekly intensity minutes since January to get ready for mountain biking, look better, and be around longer for my family. I am down 8.4lbs since February with another 5.5lbs to my target. I’m hoping to remove the beer gut and love handles entirely and add some lean mass.
The hardest part is not committing to working out—it’s not drinking, which adds calories directly, and indirectly inhibits my fitness routine (working out hung over sucks) and results in terrible dietary decisions (drunk munchies or a hangover making a burger sound that much better than a salad).
Also, I’ve had my Peloton for several years and recently discovered it’s been severely fucked up the whole time. The resistance topped out at 70 instead of 100 and the wattage readings were way off. Here I’ve been thinking I’m even more out of shape than I am. Luckily I’ve been doing almost exclusively power zone training so I’ve still been getting a good workout, but the narrow gradient of resistances did make things more difficult.
My FTP went up over 70 watts once I got it sorted and re tested and personal records are getting blown away by hundreds of kj. That’s good for my pride but fortunately the artificially depressed figures from before didn’t discourage me from working out.
I just wish I’d known sooner!
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Yeah I agree that of all the things that count toward overall health, diet is a lot more difficult than training. We have so many unhealthy temptations, we need to eat multiple times a day, and more training makes for more hunger. Add to that lightness makes you a lot faster running and cycling, so there's a weird threshold where losing ten pounds might do more for fitness than another few workouts per week. I feel like if I trained less and ate better I would be faster. But I really like food, and I like training, so the current method is good for all around joy.
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@mclaincausey As I’ve gotten older (52 now) I’ve started to focus my fitness on retaining muscle mass…so strength training multiple times a week. Pepper in yoga and some hiit stuff and that’s about it. And I walk the dog a couple miles daily. I’ve lost about 12 lbs since March and I think that the biggest reason was quitting drinking alcohol. Like you mentioned it has so many unintended negative consequences. I also still practice intermittent fasting though I’ve read some studies that put its efficacy into question. Now that warmer weather is here, however, I’ve been having a good beer now and then. One last thing is that for me, the number one benefit of consistent exercise has been the positive effect on my mental health. Everything is better. Full stop
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I have a lot more fun socially without the shame that followed my sporadic over-inebriation. Think my memory is better too.
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IF may or may not have the benefits touted. What it definitely does for me is remove a grazing window so I do tend to take in fewer calories. I also think that it helps burn fat instead of carbs to go into cardio on an empty stomach.
Weight training is crucial. I miss barbell exercises and need to get back under one instead of just adjustable dumbbells and body weight exercises at home. @SKT
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@mclaincausey 100% on IF. I don’t miss breakfast (usually) and I absolutely feel better during the day. The only thing I’m really starting to be conscious of now is to make sure I’m eating enough protein.
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@mclaincausey I used to do IF for several years while I was not yet into endurance sports and rather lifting and playing American football. It helped me getting into single digit body fat percentages due to „skipping“ a meal (calorie in vs calorie out).
And yes, it helps the body to utilise fat better as a fuel source, but don’t confuse fat burning efficiency with burning body fat. Fats and carbs are fuel sources, completely independent from your body fat.
My diet changed to being more carb and protein focused since I fell like my body needs the energy on hard training days. -
Yes they’re fuel, and you need fuel to work out. If you do fasted cardio, your body must look to glycogen or stored fat for fuel. Hopefully that will reduce body fat.
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I did a 120 hour fast last year, which dropped 4kgs of fat (weight loss after re-feeding). I carried on weight training (with around 50% intensity compared to normal) and easy cardio (again, taking it easy - HR Zone 3 or the low-end of 4 for those that know what that means) throughout. Other than water, I had black coffee, 2x daily salts (one sachet during exercise, one in the evening), and that was it during the fast.
It was effective, and after that keeping to a restricted eating window of 4 hours per day on most days since then has been an absolute doddle.
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My routine is simple. I workout, 5 days per week (45 min sessions) with light weights. I also walk 11000 steps a day (about 7km).
The older I get, the more I focus on healthy diet.
For me, flexibility and holding a healthy weight is something I’ve always been committed to.
Last, AB’s are made in the kitchen and not in the gym as they say.
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@Brandrea said in In Fitness and in Health:
Last, AB’s are made in the kitchen and not in the gym as they say.
This is so true.
However… brownies are also made in the kitchen so I’m torn.
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@Matt brother from another mother
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Mostly procrastinating my afternoon workout but wanted to share some of my favorite exercise accessories.
Airex Corona mat. You can use it for yoga (and it is advertised as such) but the extra foam makes for a very humbling experience -simple balancing poses are more challenging due to less stability. We love it for core workouts or any exercises that require you to be on the floor. The foam padding they use is more than worth the high price point.
Pso Rite. Both pieces are more or less mid evil torture devices. The black u shaped one is for loosening up the psoas muscle. I could not recommend looking into this more if you are experiencing tight hip flexors or a tight lower back. The hungry hippo teeth looking one is great for releasing muscle tension and knots around your traps/upper back.
Versa Grips. I never bought into wrist straps mostly because wraps were too much a hassle and just figured id get the added benefit of improving grip strength going wout. If you are experiencing grip failure before your target muscle burns out, give these a look. I find myself using for just about all my “pulling” exercises now.
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I just recently got back into running again. Used to run long distance in high school and fizzled out with running semi regularly maybe 15 or so years ago. Also just picked up a punching bag and some gloves on the local used market.
I think I’m going to get into a regular routine that mixes running, biking, and boxing.
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Trying to get some good reps at 30” as a warmup this morning
