Current Events > How are your fitness goals coming along ce? II

(+) Yeah! (+)

Ow. Just went to do some stretching after my run, and an upper right ab started cramping bad. That's like the third time lately, and I'd never had it before like a month and a half ago.

got my workout in.....blah it kicked my butt

Looking into getting a home ellipticalI can get a great discount on one from my company so why not?

anyone else have experience with them? It would have to be the specific brand from the company I work for but there are a lot of different models to choose from

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i think they are good for low impact cardio but I do not have much experience

Romes187 posted...

i think they are good for low impact cardio but I do not have much experience

Not ellipticals in general, but specifically home ellipticals

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I havent used home ellipticals, but I was researching them and anything Nordictrack brand tends to have good reviews. I have a treadmill with them and I love it.

I did use a Bowflex elliptical before and it was absolutely amazing. But I know those tend to ge super pricy.

You guys use creatine? I got some for free last month and my progress has been really steady, but I have no idea if that's related to the creatine

I'd prefer not to take it but if it's gonna give me a noticeable edge I'll continue

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I do but it's impossible to tell the difference irl tbh. I have the money and it's cheap so I do it because research and anecdotes from the big bois support it

Not a terrible workout today considering how much I've fucked off recently

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DuranOfForcena posted...

i'm looking at a home elliptical/exercise bike combo that i'm going to buy soon. i think it will be just what i need to get some low-impact cardio exercise. i have chronic lower back pain and stiffness which makes doing anything physical including working out pretty difficult and likely to aggravate my pain more, but i'm pretty sure an elliptical is supposed to be about the lowest impact you can get. besides maybe like water aerobics or something, but i can't swim.

question for people who have a regular workout routine. is it better to eat before or after your workout? or both? does it matter? i've been restricting caloric intake for a couple years now by eating 2 meals a day as my main avenue for weight loss, so i typically have my first meal at about 11:30 or noon. my go-to is scrambled eggs with diced pepper turkey lunchmeat, spinach, garlic and sundried tomatoes, with some banana-nutmeg-walnut steel cut oatmeal.

so, do you eat before you workout to fuel your workout and for your body to burn carbs, or you do you eat after to replenish energy after being drained and so your body burns fat stores instead of the carbs, or what? should i split the difference, have either the eggs or the oatmeal before and then the other one after? i've looked up a few sources of info about it but they seem pretty conflicting.

everything Ive seen for this kind of question is whatever works best for you

same with the question of what time of day is best to workout

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Ive tried fasted cardio for a few weeks but I found to binge eating later in the day because I lack self control. Now Ill try to eat oatmeal or something before a workout for energy.

Elliptical: If you have lower back pain issues, you may still want to try it out before you buy. Depending on exactly where it is, it can still aggravate back problems even though its a low impact workout. I know when my back is tweaked from something else, it definitely makes it worse to do stuff on the elliptical. Good news is that it will take you like 5 minutes to figure that out. Just start a workout and see how it goes.

Eating before/after workout: For most people this doesn't really make a difference. If you're in single digit body fat percentage it might. If you're a normal person just trying to stay somewhat fit, then CICO will get you where you need to go without the micromanagement. I'd rather not workout while hungry because I'm already fighting through moving heavy stuff around. I don't want to fight hunger at the same time.

Creatine: I just went on it for the first time 2 months ago. I noticed that my muscles definitely looked bigger after about a week or two. I gained a good chunk of water weight immediately too. As far as any strength gains...negligible in my case. My workout is really volume heavy atm. Most people claim they get an extra rep or two out of a set from it when they lift heavy. It's cheap enough to warrant the purchase just from looking stronger imo.

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Yeah I have to eat breakfast personally or else I feel like I don't perform as well throughout the day. But it's just a gut thing

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finished first month of insanity this morn

floridas opening up gyms on monday but im not about to go in and get covid

not really sure if my scales right but its showing me at 151 and im 5'10

i probably need to eat more but when i think of eating more i think of how i used to be very overweight
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im getting muscles!!! i think after summer I will be completely satisfied

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Took the day off from the treadmill for the first time in like a month and a half. But I did 202 push-ups with 22 lbs. of weight added. I guess that's good. Going to really push myself tomorrow.

Weight is hovering between 254 and 257 right now. Weighed in today at 255 officially.

Not sure when I posted last. I'll try to update things though.

Lowest weight recorded so far = 254 that was yesterday morning, today I weighed in 255.
My stomach roundness has decreased in length by 3/4ths of an inch since Wednesday, my waist has gone down a full inch as well.
My resting heart rate has gone down from 88bpm to 76bpm after consistently being 88bpm.
My 1 mile walk has gone down over 45 seconds.

Overall, lots of gains on my end in terms of health, fitness and looking and feeling better.

Man I'm having a real tough time lately. I'm back up to 163 or so after fuckin off for about a week (awful diet, no exercise) but I finally feel like I'm though the worst part. I'm starting to look forward to lifting again.

Just got to get through this heavy week then I'm going to deload and take it easy.

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Vamp_Aubrey posted...

floridas opening up gyms on monday but im not about to go in and get covid

Damn. I live in PA and my county is still shut down until next month. Gyms are in phase 3 of the reopen plan so Im not expecting gyms to open again til like August. Im not even sure if Id go right away tbh. Probably give it a few weeks to see if theres a sudden surge in cases.

Terrible week.
The weather here went from 30ish and snowing to 70s and humid af in the course of a couple days. Tough adjustment from just that but I at least finished my routines. They just took longer because I'd drag my feet transitioning to the next exercise.

My diet went really poorly this week. I ordered out 4/7 days. None of it healthy. My fiance was going through a lot of work stress and ate her stress away. it's hard to resist pizza when she over orders and will just throw it out otherwise.

Visually my muscles look a little bigger. Maybe a pinch more tummy flab but nothing anyone else would notice. Gained a little under 3lbs. Some water weight, but no way to tell how much.

Next week I'm switching to a total body workout every other day. Keep my focus day exercises on each focus day. Cardio on my off days. I have a good amount of overlap in my current routine from one day to the next. I'm only adding in like a half hour lifting on lift days so I'll probably end up gaining some strength since I'll actually have some proper recovery time.

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My diet's actually gone better than it was pre-quarantine. I ate 4 scrambled eggs and oatmeal for a few years to the point it was a habit. I knocked out the eggs to where it's just oatmeal now, and it's going well.

...but I've also been waking up later than usual, so I missed an entire week of Ring Fit before work. So ugh. I miss my gym.

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Diet is borderline but I make sure I get enough protein.

Been working 12 hr and 24 hr shifts and flipping back and fourth to nights as well. But I've still managed to be consistent.... The worst I've done is combine upper and lower power days and cut out accessories.... So squat, dead, bench, row all in 1 day, then 2 day gap

I'm finally getting back on track. Decent workout today, had eggs and egg whites + toast for breakfast and yogurt and mixed nuts for a snack. Thinking we might order something for dinner though so... We'll see how it goes

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eyyy badabing



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BreezyExcursion posted...

eyyy badabing

damn that's awesome

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Hayame Zero posted...

My diet's actually gone better than it was pre-quarantine. I ate 4 scrambled eggs and oatmeal for a few years to the point it was a habit. I knocked out the eggs to where it's just oatmeal now, and it's going well.

Y tho?

a few things Ive been eating the last few days. You guys know what omelets and ribs look like, and wasnt gonna take a picture of every single thing I eat. Surprised Im hovering around 205-208 and havent completely wasted away with gyms being closed. Also did zero carb the last two days... brain fog from hell, cant accurately describe what I felt here or I would get a horseshit moderation. Would not recommend to others.

https://ibb.co/fDr1N6V
https://ibb.co/gFd626T
https://ibb.co/xLpzNHK
https://ibb.co/zsyb00R

edit: with imgur being janky now, not sure how to display pics.


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So here was the timeline:
Jan 11th - 23:08
Feb 8th - 22:17
Mar 14th - 20:57
Mar 16th *IT Band issue - lowered training intensity*
Apr 6th *Resumed training intensity*
April 26th - 20:51
May 6th - 5:38 Mile
May 16th - 19:23

Sub 20 5k was my goal, so I'm going to need a new one. I don't want to be racing 10k time trials on my own, so I'll probably start working on a 5:20 mile. I'll probably still be doing 25-30mpw, but adding in more track work.

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I'm still having foot issues. The pain goes away once I've been jogging for a few minutes, but I'm starting to wonder if I should just completely stop jogging. Man, maybe I should just see someone
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BreezyExcursion posted...

So here was the timeline:
Jan 11th - 23:08
Feb 8th - 22:17
Mar 14th - 20:57
Mar 16th *IT Band issue - lowered training intensity*
Apr 6th *Resumed training intensity*
April 26th - 20:51
May 6th - 5:38 Mile
May 16th - 19:23

Sub 20 5k was my goal, so I'm going to need a new one. I don't want to be racing 10k time trials on my own, so I'll probably start working on a 5:20 mile. I'll probably still be doing 25-30mpw, but adding in more track work.

Nice man! Whatd you do to get your time down?

@BreezyExcursion nice man, seems like solid progress. Always feels nice to hit a goal you set for yourself, too.

I really need to set some kind of goal for myself to work towards

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alimajor posted...

Nice man! Whatd you do to get your time down?

Built up to 30 miles per week on 5 days a week of running. 2 harder efforts (Usually 1 tempo, 1 track workout)

When I was dealing with the ITB pain, I was still running 30mpw, but I had eliminated the harder efforts to not injure myself for real. The April 26th time trial showed basically no progression, which makes sense to me... I ran only 5 total sub-7 miles in April, and 3 of them were during that time trial. Although I didn't lose much aerobic fitness, I was completely out of my element trying to hold 6:40-6:50 pace since it was the fastest I had ran in a month.

If I want to hold 6:20 pace for 3 miles, I need to be able to run faster than that pace for a shorter distance. I basically had 3 key workouts between April 26th and yesterday (Along with continuing the 30mpw) which seemed to help a lot.
10x400m, 60 seconds rest between each 400m - Did these all under 90 seconds, which is 6 minute mile pace. Speed building
5:38 mile time trial - This was mostly just a confidence thing. Mentally, it's a lot easier to run a 6:20 mile when you know that 6:20 is not the fastest mile you can run
4x800m, 800m jog between each 800m - Did these at exactly 3 minutes, the jog rest makes it simulate a race effort a little better.

That's only 3 real workouts and it made a world of difference. Here are my splits for April vs. May - Notice how I couldn't even get my heart rate up that high in April.





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Im back in my gym now. Did arms Friday and, between the two month downtime and low carbs, it was a struggle. Squats tomorrow!

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Weighed in at 253.5 today, 76bpm resting heart rate, good diet. I just learned about body type macro preferences, completely new to me, but I'll be consuming much more fat/oils and cut out the whole grain bread. This should accelerate weight loss and fat loss. I am taking a wild guess and predicting that by Thursday next week I will be under 250lbs officially.

The weight is just melting off like butter. I was 265lbs in the beginning of April. I don't know if I'll go walking today, the weather is bad. I just want to thank God, Jesus and the angels watching my back for putting back in the right path.

So while there is still a topic talking about fitness goals, I was curious if people had any comments or critiques on my normal gym routine so that I can adjust when my gyms eventually reopen.

I normally do a 5-day split that has an almost identical structure each day:
A heavy lift with descending reps: 3,3,2,2,1
A superset with 2 exercises at 4x10
2 cooldown exercises at 3x15

The order is legs, chest, rest, back, shoulders, arms, rest.

Legs: squat, press and leg curl, leg lift, heel rise
Chest: incline bench, dumbell press and fly, skullcrushers, seated fly
Back: weighted pullups, straight arm pulls and rows, shoulder rises, back seated fly
Shoulder: standing press, incline raise and upright barbell rows, front raises, cable pulls
Arms: preacher curls, curls and decline triceps lift, barbell curls, dips

I should be doing cardio or core on those rest days but I find that if I try and add any more to this I end up burning out on motivation.

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im doing the bare minimum to maintain. when i got furloughed i was like "hey that's great. now i can spend more time in the gym" then the gym closed. "but saul, you know running is free outside right" it's too hot to run outside. nobody trying to run in 105 degrees. plus on the treadmill i can watch movies. HURRY UP GYM

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s0nicfan posted...

So while there is still a topic talking about fitness goals, I was curious if people had any comments or critiques on my normal gym routine so that I can adjust when my gyms eventually reopen.

I normally do a 5-day split that has an almost identical structure each day:
A heavy lift with descending reps: 3,3,2,2,1
A superset with 2 exercises at 4x10
2 cooldown exercises at 3x15

The order is legs, chest, rest, back, shoulders, arms, rest.

Legs: squat, press and leg curl, leg lift, heel rise
Chest: incline bench, dumbell press and fly, skullcrushers, seated fly
Back: weighted pullups, straight arm pulls and rows, shoulder rises, back seated fly
Shoulder: standing press, incline raise and upright barbell rows, front raises, cable pulls
Arms: preacher curls, curls and decline triceps lift, barbell curls, dips

I should be doing cardio or core on those rest days but I find that if I try and add any more to this I end up burning out on motivation.

Im no pro so take my comments with a grain or salt but make sure you have a structured programming scheme.

Your shoulder routine might be front felt heavy, I would do side raises rather than front raises so your shoulders are more balanced. I'd also look go. Through in another tricep excersie on arm day. Also, it might be better to hit each body part twice a week instead of once.

Why not just use a pre made routine and tweek it to ur liking? The main thing is not having muscle imbalances.

Billy__Beane posted...

Im no pro so take my comments with a grain or salt but make sure you have a structured programming scheme.

Your shoulder routine might be front felt heavy, I would do side raises rather than front raises so your shoulders are more balanced. I'd also look go. Through in another tricep excersie on arm day. Also, it might be better to hit each body part twice a week instead of once.

Why not just use a pre made routine and tweek it to ur liking? The main thing is not having muscle imbalances.

This was based on a premade routine I found on one of those lifting forums. It was voted by members to be the best 5-day split. I did have to make one or two substitutions because I had previously hurt my lower back and I was trying to be careful of certain motions, but for the most part the routine is the same. However, those are some good comments about shoulders and arms so I'll have to remember that when my gym reopens.

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Hayame Zero posted...

My diet's actually gone better than it was pre-quarantine. I ate 4 scrambled eggs and oatmeal for a few years to the point it was a habit. I knocked out the eggs to where it's just oatmeal now, and it's going well.

...but I've also been waking up later than usual, so I missed an entire week of Ring Fit before work. So ugh. I miss my gym.

EdgeMaster posted...

Y tho?

Because cutting out four eggs will cut some calories, and I'm getting more than enough protein from other stuff anyway. I'm also getting tired of them because I've been eating them every morning for so long.

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Damnit, my left knee's bugging me again. Last time this happened I pushed through it and then could barely walk for 2 weeks. So I guess I have no choice but to go a bit lighter. Cut my mile time down to 7:35, though that one mile is the only real running I've done in the last 3 days. Frustrating when I want to push ahead.

Ran a 5k yesterday nonstop today did 4.60 miles non stop. Feel pretty good.

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Starting running again and Im slowly but shortly shaving time off my mile time. Currently just under 10 minutes now. I know, thats bad.

I havent ran in nearly 7 years. My old mile time used to average 6:15, thats what Im training to get back to.

Im coming in at 11-12 min miles.

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Resting heart rate 78bpm
I got a device that reads the heart rate more accurately instead of taking my pulse for 15 seconds and multiplying by 4. It's down from 88bpm before, pretty happy about this. I would love to be sub 70bpm. Imagine that will come by the end of the week if I keep exercising.

Waist: 45 inches(stayed the same)
No change here, although it is down a full inch since last week. There was no change in the last 2 days though. I shouldn't be measuring so often it is just hard not to get excited when you're making such great progress.

Stomach: 47 & 1/4th inch stomach(down 1 inch)
Most notable change; a full inch off my stomach. This made me happy. My stomach is a huge problem area for me.

Morning weight: 253.5
No change since yesterday, I was hoping I'd be lighter. I am lighter than yesterday though technically, I weighed in yesterday after going number 2. I have not gone yet, if I did I'd be a full pound lower at least.

I just tried on an old pair of pants which I couldn't even fit my thighs through before and I was able to fit my legs through and put them on. I couldnt zip them up or button them but this is a good step forward. If things keep going as planned I might be able to fit into them by July or sooner. I have a lot of clothes I want to fit back into.

Going to go get a Chem 20 blood test to figure out my blood type and eat according to it so I can lose weight even faster.

Still feeling ITBS discomfort. I really need to find some way of dealing with this. I feel sluggish on days I don't get a run in. My resting heart rate seems to be around 50 BPM. I guess that's ... something.

Finished with the first week of the work and im pretty dang sore

it was a lot of hips and legs and the last little bit was an active stretching type of thing. Definitely feeling new muscle in my hip flexor area and elsewhere.

Got my blood work done, I was surprisingly chill for it. I normally experience an adrenaline spike when I get my blood drawn but I only felt a little uneasy due to having the needle in me for like 3 minutes while 5 vials of blood were drawn. Getting my whole blood inspected for any abnormalities that need to be corrected, I have a feeling everything will be in good range, just trying to figure out my blood type so I know what foods I should eat and which ones I should avoid. Exam results come in 3 days. Hopefully by then I'll be under 250lbs :)

Just came back from walking a mile, feel great. Had a decent breakfast, 2 whole eggs, a slice of cheese and 2 clementine, I forgot to eat some cashews unfortunately.

Going to try on a few old t shirts that didn't fit before and see how I'm doing.