Was it Queen Victoria’s fault because you were here Ruthio?
That’s the one Foxy! 
There I was merrily walking along the grass verge and suddenly over went my ankle oowwwwwwwww!!!
I suppose one of those nasty little hidden tree roots or something like that.
Must be 30+ years since I’ve sprained my ankle, I’m Very Cross about it!
The swelling has almost gone down now, but it still feels stiff and achey, I’ve got one of those tight white hospital stockings on which is very supportive. Very glam, not!!
Way to go Queen Lion. I knew you could do it. 
Ruthio… ouch. :hug:
Been struggling a bit of late, hence no posts…
But Tuesday’s run wasn’t too bad (apart from the time) and Thursday’s run was even better (including the time) so I wasn’t expecting too much this morning as I set off for my last run on home turf for a week. I started off heavy legged and tired, but by the time I reached the lane I was flying. Also flying was the hundred or so Geese that caught me up looking for somewhere to splash about…I could hear them coming over a mile away with their incessant gaggling. I wish I could speak ‘Goose’ because I always wonder what they are talking about…
I arrived home on my last legs, as usual, but the time was only thirty seconds short of a seasons best…Thank you very much…
It’s off to Llandudno on Saturday to celebrate our 46th Wedding Anniversary, and a change of scenery while out running and walking…
Congratulations for your 46th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow Bob - hope you have a lovely break in Llandudno 
Thanks Mags, Anniversary is on Sunday, party starts at nine, but I’ll probably be in bed asleep by ten…:-D…Haven’t got the party stamina that I used to have…
Have a lovely time Foxy!
I’d love to visit Llandudno but it’s a helluva way from the South and I don’t know the way 
OGF, how nice that you two will be able to travel for your anniversary and enjoy one of your favorite destinations together. You both deserve a wonderful time and I hope it’s special. Happy anniversary!
Neither you nor I have been making headlines with our running of late, but I am feeling better about my running now that the heat has finally broken to between 80 and 85 degrees. I have had to skip a few days, which is extraordinarily frustrating, but I am back to my regular schedule, which feels heavenly. I’ve also abandoned the muscle-burning beach runs for the trails which affords me more shade and better times.
Ruthio, I hope you are less swollen and bruised. Two years ago, I broke my elbow running the lava beds on my first day of a Hawaiian surfing vacation. There is a funny story worth telling in a few days when time affords, but it was a tremendous disappointment - and embarrassment. Ice, ice, and more ice, Ruthio!
Thanks Ruthio and Surfermom, No running this morning before we set of…Just as well really because it’s pouring down with rain…
I think you would love Llandudno Ruthio, it’s got to be the best unspoilt seafront in all of the UK, and perhaps beyond…Surrounded by the mountains of North Wales and in particular Snowdonia. Well worth the drive, with directions provided by Foxy…
You would love it also Surfermom, if you ever ventured to these shores, it would be the second most important place for you to visit…
The first would obviously be Yorkshire…
That’s it for a while on the exercise thread, but if you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms from Foxy, you can still find me on Bob’s Bits…
Afternoon fitness freaks
Great to be catching up with all the posts in here, the thread has seen so much activity while I’ve been away and it’s always a good sign that there’s been no slacking with you all keeping fit in your various ways.
Firstly, Bob - Many congratulations on you and your wife’s 46 years together. That’s some doing buddy. Have a wonderful time in Llandudno, the both of you. It’s a lovely part of Wales.
Suzie, Ruthio, Lion Queen et al - keep up the good work too. 
We arrived back from Tenerife in the early hours. Despite some minor incidents with some family members needing to offload some tension :-|, a good time was had by us all mostly but as far as family hols go - for my wife and myself, it’s time to call it a day from now on. However, it was largely enjoyable and the little ones loved it the most, which is what a family holiday is all about isn’t it?
I have returned suntanned but I took advantage of the all inclusive food and drink and I’m somewhat fattened up, which I will need to lose pronto. There was a small gym on the complex which I dabbled with a little, but it was so warm that I spent most of my time just chilling out in the pool with the kids.
This morning I have already been divising a new gym programme, which will add a full cardio routine to my programme in an effort to regain my normal weight (which going back to the routine of work next will will no doubt see me do anyway), and I intend to take it further by losing half a stone to reach 16 stones by Christmas if possible. That should see the weight coming off my belly mainly as the rest of me is still relatively unscathed by the holiday excesses!
So it will be a new programme as follows:
Tuesday: Light-moderate; 60 mins.
Thursday: Heavy; 75 mins.
Friday: High reps + Cardio; 90 mins.
Sunday: Legs; 60 mins.
As you can see this shouldn’t affect my enjoyment of training but the extra light work, higher reps and cardio should see my fitness increase hopefully without affecting the muscle too much as I’ll still be doing my bodybuilding work on a Thursday, one day earlier to make way for the cardio machines on Fridays. My ‘legs day’ will remain unchanged for Sundays.
I intend to begin this new programme on Tuesday next week, but in the meantime I’ll be doing a couple of light sessions just to get me back into the swing of things tomorrow and Monday.
Keep up the good work, all
I return and everyone else disappears….lol.
As I mentioned on Saturday, I’m changing my training programme to concentrate of being (or getting) as fit as possible. Four distinct days (light, heavy, cardio/high reps and legs) of fitness training featuring a variety of exercises. This will begin tomorrow with an hour’s worth of light-moderate work, but wasting no time in the interim I’ve already made a start on my gym work since I came back from my hols. Here are yesterday’s and today’s efforts:
Sunday 7/10/18: Just Arms.
Back with my first training session since before I went on holiday, and it was simply a matter of toning the arms enough ready for getting back into the swing of things tomorrow.
Unfortunately I happened to leave my written template at the gym afterwards, so I don’t have the full workout noting my sets, reps and weights. However, these were the exercises I performed:
Tricep extensions 1 Warm-ups
Machine arm curls, both Warm-ups
Lat pulldown, underarm Flex-hold at bottom
DB concentration flex curl Slow, no rest between sets
BB curl, seated, 60° Hold at shoulder 3 secs
Low row, s/a, alt. No rest between sets
Pinwheel curls, alt. Hold between sets to fail
Rope pull-ups Standard sets
Tricep pulldowns No rest between sets
BB forearm rev. curl Standard sets
Preacher curl, standing, alt. To shoulder, both arms
Cables: Hi-pull bicep curls No rest, full flex final fail
Tricep extensions 2 Increasing weight, to fail
E-Z preacher curl, c/g Hold at top
Tricep pushdowns Rapid, many as poss.
Bicep stack curls Rapid, many as poss.
Time: 1hr. 30mins.
Monday 8/10/18: High reps, legs, cardio.
Today I was more organised with my write-up and with plenty of energy I decided on an initial batch of upper body high reps followed by a simplified legs segment, and then a ‘taster’ for my forthcoming cardio workout which will replace my usual ‘strength’ session (now moved to Thursdays) on Friday evenings.
High Reps (Light weights; fast pace):
Chest press:
25x40, 20x30
Seated row:
25x41, 30x35
Tricep extensions:
25x40, 20x30
Smith flat bench press:
25x40, 20x30
E-Z preacher curl:
15x28, 20x18
[U]Legs[/U](short session):
Horizontal sled press:
50x120, 30x150, 20x200
30x100
Seated ham curls:
25x40, 10x50, 10x60, 6x70
25x35
Extensions:
25x40, 15x50, 15x60, 10x80, 10x100
30x40
*No issues with my knees for a while, so I’ve brought back leg extensions into my routine from now on. These are essential for maintaining decent muscle around the affected area below the kneecap. Pushing the weight to the max on the last heavy set to the full stack of 100kgs went smoothly after all this time, though I was careful not to lock out the knees on the exercise.
Another thing I now do is a few ‘bounce reps’ at the end of each set, which involves lifting the weight with the legs extended and isolating the inner quads so they remain hard.
Adductor:
25x60, 15x60
Abductor:
25x60, 15x60
Ab crunch:
25x30, 25x35, 25x40, 25x25
*My new routine for ab crunches will follow this format: 100 reps in total at a medium weight.
Cardio (taster):
Cross trainer, rower, bike, treadmill.
Just two minutes on each for a start. This will increase to 10-15 mins this Friday. Eventually I am looking at a full hour on these machines.
1hr. 20mins.
Thanks for reading.
Well, still chugging along at the ‘little gym’ and racked up 3½ hours today. I could have gone on but I was starting to get very hungry as I didn’t have a big breakfast and it was 1:30pm by that point. Arms are really feeling good afterwards and did 6 sets of 100 (sort of!) stomach crunches. It’s not what I’d describe as a “real” stomach crunch machine, but it’s very similar to one. I am working up the nerve to try for 1,000 one of these days. Well, I can dream.
Your ab crunching is awesome Tachyon. If someone should punch you in the stomach they would suffer a broken hand! Monster work there. They’re not my favourite exercise but I realise they are necessary to keep a strong core section and they look amazing to the girls 
What arm work do you do mate? 
Tuesday 9/10/18: Short session, light-moderate; 35 mins.
Feeling really out of sorts today for my first session of my new programme, which is sod’s law of course. Reason being I have been asleep this morning with my fan on blowing cold air directly on me for six hours resulting in the most Godawfully-painful still neck. But despite walking around with my head on a tilt and having to move my whole body when I looked right, I was determined to attempt at least some of my workout, however slight it ended up.
Machine curl, both arms:
12x30, 12x30, 12x30
DB bench press:
6x28’s
*Stopped after one set as the issue with my neck was excrutiatingly painful.
Lat pulldown, wide grip:
12x35, 12x40
Seated row:
15x35, 15x41
Smith shoulder press, 60° bench:
10x30, 10x40
*Not a good idea with a bad neck.
Smith flat bench:
6x50, 6x50
Pinwheel bicep curls, standing, alt.:
6x14
Tricep extensions:
86x25, to failure
Sled leg press:
60x100
Ab crunch:
100x30
Better than nothing despite having to do baby weights on most exercises. The final three high reps were pleasing though.
Rest day tomorrow followed by my revamped ‘heavier’ session on Thursday, if niggles allow!
Thanks for reading.
Doing a spin class at 7pm then swim. I.m tired just thinking about it
I was thinking the other day about spinning, while I was revising my new programme to include cardio on a Friday. I’ll see how my knees fare this week doing my first batch of cardio then perhaps start the spin class again soon.
Enjoy it tonight, Lion Queen
Hard to quantify, as the machines use a hydraulic piston and the settings range from (weakest) -2, -1, 0, +1, +2 (maximum) and they aren’t rated by pounds or kilos. Here’s a pic of the arm/ab machines I use…
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m4bgx37w2z9boxv/Technogym%20gear%203.jpg?dl=0
The crunch machine isn’t what I’d class as a “proper” one, but I usually do 6 to 8 sets of 100 reps in a session. I’m hoping to get 1,000 done one day either next week or the week after.
The arm machines and pec-deck I have to do alternate arms because if I use both arms at the same time the exercise load is too easy. I do 10 to 15 extends with my right arm first, then the left, at the same speed as most people do using both arms. In a set I probably do each arm 6 or 8 times, so I end up roughly doing 100 to 120 extensions per arm. I use each machine maybe 6 to 8 times in a session.
I probably made that sound as clear as mud, sorry! I’d much prefer using machines that have actual weights, so that I have some idea of what I can and can’t do, lol. One of these days I’ll be back to the “big gym” again.
went for a 50 minute swim this lunchtime then tonight I’ve done a 45 minute spin class, I’m getting addicted to the buzz I get by spin classes but I guess its a good addiction to have.
Stil thinking of doing a class Floydy?
No worries at mate, I think you’re doing splendidly. I’ve used those hydraulic machines though and don’t rate them. As you say, you can’t really judge the weight you’re lifting and on many occasions I went too heavy too fast and the air sockets were coming out of the skirting boards!
Stick to weights at the ‘big gym’, mate and those phenomenal ab crunches and you won’t go wrong
Fabulous, Lion Queen. Addiction is the key to total fitness. On the ‘spinning’, see below…
Firstly, my thoughts go out to Surfermom who is right up to her knees in the thick of it with that horrendous hurricane she has encounted. Being the wonderful lady she is, she’s right out there clearing up. Hope your friends get through all this okay, Suzie. It must be a nightmare.
Friday 13/10/18: Cardio; 45 mins.
Yes, you saw this right: Cardio! The first time I have done a proper session on the machines since I don’t know when.
54 today too, so I must have seen this as a new step to retaining (regaining?) my fitness levels. As I mentioned last week I intend to lose a few pounds and get my body weight down to 16 stones. Weighing myself this morning I am already at 16st4lbs from 16 and a half last week, so the diet part of it is working a treat so far.
Obviously when I do some of the more heavier work to keep the muscle looking ‘swole’, my weight will even out again, but as for getting the belly down and seeing some more defined abs again, I’m confident of achieving that very soon.
I began this morning with almost 30 minutes on the treadmill (in fact, a shade longer than Pink Floyd’s ‘Shine On You Crazy Diamond’ which was on my headphones) and it worked brilliantly. Going up and down with the gradient and speed buttons killed any boredom that this apparatus would normally have. I’ve drawn the line against running though: If I go to the max incline of 15% really pushing hard, then taking it down to the flat whilst walking at 7.2km/h as fast as I can without breaking into a jog, then that’s alright with me. I burned off 187 calories which got me thinking I’d like to aim for 500…but that would mean walking on this thing for nearly an hour and a half! We shall see. Loved it.
Next I went on the cross trainer. As I remembered I’m not too fond of this piece of kit. All that twisting is not good for the spinal cord, so I did five minutes and moved on to the bike instead.
The stationary bike was terrific fun though. I had it on an ‘effort level’ of just “2”, so that I could pedal as fast as I could for nigh on 10 minutes, sometimes with the bike rocking off its supports! All that leg strength I’ve built up over the years has definitely paid off as they turned into a blur, moving as fast as I was. Weird thoughts entered my head as I envisaged the idea of going to a “spinning” class. Again, that may well happen.
It got to 45 minutes and I called it a day. Next time I’ll add the rowing machine too and take this session to an hour. It was just great knowing that I am still as fit as a fiddle away from the weights and I’m making this a regular occurrence every Saturday morning (before I go on the ale trail in the afternoon!)
Treadmill: 30 mins
Cross trainer: 5 mins
Bike: 10 mins
Total: 45 mins
Thanks for reading.