Hi Fitness Freaks !
You don’t mind me calling you that do you?
It’s said in the most playful way.
Check Tachyon out.
Now there’s other serious weight lifters here.
Good stuff.
I’ve been going to the gym and normally jogging 2 kilometres, riding 5 miles, do a 20 minute leg workout and either do weight lifting for my arms or for my legs.
I usually only go 2 or 3 times a week.
Tonight I went swimming only and swam a full mile to see what my swimming speed is which is a mile in 45 minutes. It didn’t leave very much time to shower and wash my hair but I managed. At -10 it freezes very quickly. Luckily my car isn’t far and warms up quickly.
“Only” visiting the gym 2-3 times per week is quite okay to be honest, Bratti, when you are swimming, jogging and riding as well. Great stuff there!
Is that horse ‘riding’ you mean?
No, I’ve been called a freak before and it’s better than other names, so I’ll excuse you!
Yes, it’s great to see Tachyon really getting to grips in the gym. I was becoming quite lonesone being the only one who pumped the iron. Now I have a gym buddy at last!
Keep up the good work Bratti. Are you training tomorrow?
Thanks Floydy.
By riding I mean the bicycling machine which is set in the middle for hardness/ challenging but I do like horseback riding.
I still do my yoga in the morning and walk my dogs everyday for 1/2 an hour to an hour so I am staying very active. Working out any more I think would be overkill.
I have noticed that shovelled the driveway and house decks is become easy so I must be getting stronger but I’ll never be in the kind of shape my brother is. He’s a marathoner so is SUPER fit.
I’ve gone dizzy just reading about the amount of exercise going on in here…:shock:
A couple of new guys in here…I knew Realspeed and Tabby couldn’t resist getting into some workouts after reading what’s going on in this thread, it sort of rubs off doesn’t it…I hope to be reading some regular reports of progress by you two…
Floydy and Tachyon, are they putting something in the water where you live, some awesome exercising going on there…Tachyon, just be mindful of your previous Heart issues! I have to back off sometimes when I feel the urge to ‘Give it some’…
Bratti, do you fancy coming and giving Mrs Fox some coaching, she’s trying to dispel her image of couch potato and ‘Say Yes To the Dress’ addiction… …In all fairness though, she is going out walking every day, and putting in the odd fifteen minutes on the exercise bike…
What am I doing I hear you ask?..
Well runnings occuring every time it’s supposed to [four sessions per week] although running with a head cold is not everyone’s idea of fun, but I must admit that the only time I can breath through my nose is after a run, but energy seems to be in short supply, and I’ve been struggling over the last mile or two on most runs…
Nice to see you pop in again, Bob. Sorry to hear about the cold though at least you’re not one to give in easily
Tachyon - as Bob mentions your previous heart issues (which tbh I’d forgotten about), stay away from any tension training routines I might post. They would not suit you as they increase the heart rate in an ungodly fashion. Do as you’re doing, gradual increaes in weight and some high reps and you’ll be just fine and in better health than you have been in for years
You know when sometimes you feel raring to go and are chomping at the bit to do your exercise? Well it happens to me on rare occasions. A nice continuation of my ‘tension training’ programme, today to try on the biceps…
On entering the gym I simply lost the motivation. The place was rammed for some strange reason, even the benches were all taken and I just couldn’t be bothered. I did however manage one exercise, being part of my routine whereby all I needed was a bar and a standing area, four sets on the E-Z curl bar:
12x28 - pause - 10x28 - pause - 8x28
10x38 - pause - 2x38
6x43 (to failure)
24x18 high reps
*On the first set I used a wider grip than normal which involves more of the outside ‘peak’ of the biceps, the closer grip on the remaining sets forming the harder and larger inner ‘belly’ of the biceps. It’s certainly not easy to pause a bar at the top contraction when you’re standing up for five breaths then do another 2-3 sets without putting the bar down, but that’s what builds and retains muscle and even though I only did this one exercise I can feel the work done in my arms.
I’ll fine tune this exercise and add it to my full upper body session later in the week.
Sound advice indeed. I sometimes think I’m a bit over-cautious, but slow and steady is the way. I catch myself thinking I wonder if I could chest press 45kg instead of 35kg, but sanity prevails and I stick with the 35kg but do more reps.
I hope your cold clears soon - I admire you for continuing to run while you have one!!
What’s tension training again? Sounds interesting but I definitely wouldn’t risk trying it. Maybe in a year if I haven’t dropped dead in the gym before then.
It’s all explained in my posts of this week and last mate. Basically, a each set is carried out doing as many reps as possible until you can’t do any more - but the key thing is NOT to drop the weight, you hold it steady with your muscles taking the strain and ‘pausing’ while you catch your breath. Then you carry on with the set and do more reps, then a third time.
On the next set you do two parts to the set but with more weight.
The final set is simply a much heavier one doing as many reps as you can until ‘failure’ point.
If you’re still alive after all that, do a quick set of between 25-50 high reps at a very light weight.
This afternoon’s workout, in totals (done in various sets of 10, 15 or 20)…
Shoulder press – 25 @ 15kg, so @12.5kg
Leg extension – 25 @ 15kg, 20 @ 20kg
Leg curl – 40 @ 20kg
(couldn’t do any of the above a couple of weeks ago due to stiffness)
Ah yes, of course. Still makes me wince thinking about it, and I’ll give that a wide berth. The ticker is doing pretty well but that would definitely be taking it a stage too far for me, as you say.
Keep up the good work everyone! You all keep me going.
Your wife seems very motivated Bob. She’s out walking everyday and even managing to put time in on the exercise bike. That’s awesome. My only suggestion is to tell her often how much healthier she is looking since she started working out. Healthier not better. If you use the term better that’s a trap in itself, as you probably already know.
The marathon training I have the upmost respect and appreciation for. It takes a LOT of dedication and commitment to do something like that. During running season jogging 30 miles on a Sunday is his norm. During biking season he’ll ride his bike to visit me which is about 260 kilometres and ride back the same day. He’s 3 1/2 years older than me so I can barely rap my head around it. Probably the only sport I can do a marathon in us swimming but I wouldn’t want to. That’s too competitive with rigid rules. That would suck most of the enjoyment out if it for me but he seemed to thrive off it just like you thrive off of your running Bob. It becomes like an addiction.
You could also tell her that housework becomes easier when you are fit which means it takes less time. This extra time you could use elsewhere.
I’m really glad I joined the gym mainly for the socializing aspect of it. It’s forcing me to interact with others.
The people are really nice and many of them smile and say hi to me which I like. It’s very interesting watching others working out. I’m learning so much from others this way
I’m also learning quite a bit from reading this thread.
I’m glad I’m staying in shape not just for my own personal satisfaction but because I’ve always been the person my husband counts on to help him do things from carpentry, to home repairs , to cutting down trees and chopping wood to bring in for the woodstove. He relies on me and I want to make sure I’m there for him for as long as I can. Plus I’ve been helping my parents and I have to be tough to handle that. :shock:
Thanks Floydy and Tachyon, I think I really would be ill if I couldn’t get out for a run…I was once too ill with a bad head cold to go to work, but as it was a scheduled ‘run day’ I decided to go anyway…And I broke the record for that course…:surprised: You couldn’t make it up could you…
Your brother sounds like my kind of guy Bratti, although he would leave me for dead these days. Running has always been my first discipline and running thirty miles in training for a marathon or a fell run would not be unusual. Your brothers cycling achievements are awesome, and I can only marvel at the great distances that he covers. I also took the road bike mainly when I was injured, but I only once managed over a hundred miles in one go.
A workmate and myself did do a coast to coast [280 miles] but that was done over three days. Under normal circumstances I would generally cycle between 60 and 80 miles.
But I must compliment you on your training Bratti, especially the swimming, you are obviously keeping yourself in excellent condition…
I consider myself in good shape Bob but there’s no way I could regularly bike 60 to 80 miles. That’s inspiring and the places you bike must look amazing.
I know my brothers flown to other countries to participate in bike marathons. When he was in New York City he broke his pelvis riding and kept riding. :shrug:
There are many bikers around our area probably because it’s so hilly and scenic. I could really appreciate the novelty of biking when one takes ‘adventure’ into consideration. Some of my best times were traveling on a motorcycle while viewing the countryside so I understand the appeal. I just wish I had that type of stamina.
Do you ever travel to other countries to go biking or jogging?
Besides your hometown what’s the nicest place you’ve jogged?
What’s the main reason you jog?
Unfortunately after two heart attacks the best bits are behind me now Bratti…
The only other shores I have visited during my career have been the Isle of Man in the Irish sea where I ran the marathon there and managed 14th place. Rather an anti climax though because there were only 63 competitors taking part…
I suppose one of the most beautiful scenic places was North Wales while taking part in the Snowdon Marathon…Such a beautiful country and one of the few places I would possibly relocate to…
The reasons I run/jog are because I’ve always found it easier to do than most people, with hills being my speciality. These days I do it because I love running and the freedom and tranquility of a lonely trail. To be at one with nature and leave any worries behind at the door…And I still get such a buzz after forty years…
Went along to my walking group this morning…blue sky bright sun no excuse!
Longer than usual, around 4 miles I think.
Came on home, didn’t go back to the cafe for coffee, now collapsed at home, feet up with large coffee!
It’s well light now when I set off on my runs at seven, makes it a lot easier picking my way across the boulder strewn field. Work progresses on the railway bridge project but it’s hard to see what all those blokes and machines have accomplished so far. The bridge remains intact [no traffic so it’s good for runners and walkers] with just piles of earth and stones laying around at the bottom of the slopes and brightly coloured barriers and bollards picking out my running course…
The sun appears as I get half way round, it’s a comforting sight to see, especially since there is still a cold breeze whipping around my naked legs, but it feels good in a strange sort of way…The lane is rutted from tractors preparing fields for spring crops, but without any rain for a week or two the surface is firm, just bumpy.
I was hanging on for the last mile, although the time was decent, I think the head cold I’ve been carrying has sapped some energy and I was glad it was just a five…Same again tomorrow!
…In all fairness though, she is going out walking every day, and putting in the odd fifteen minutes on the exercise bike…
