Post your daily exercise routine

Exercise & Fitness Exercise & Fitness: Chat / Discussions
861

Great to see this thread is still very active with Bob (or Mr. OGF) carrying the torch, but with Surfermom very much in the picture too, plus occasional guests as well. I’ve just been catching up on a few pages and it’s very reassuring to see that you’re all keeping the good work in the fitness stakes…which is more than can be said for me, I’m afraid to admit.

Raising its ugly head is that old enemy of mine: Time. There is a distinct lack of it coming my way and bearing the brunt of it is my training schedule. In fact, apart from maybe a couple of very meagre sessions in as many weeks, I’ve fallen by the wayside.

But I do have my excuses/reasons:
My wife is now over half way through her radiotherapy sessions, following her hysterectomy operation and despite doing very well, she is very tired all the time and I am doing a lot of her usual chores: some cleaning, picking up the granddaughter from school 2-3 times per week, a bit of shopping, etc. And as I work these God-awful night shifts, it seems that as soon as I get out of bed at about 1pm, it’s time to start thinking about tea time again and commencing the next shift.

This has all made me a little despondent. It’s like the old “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. I fear Jack Nicholson’s character may soon take a permanent hold sometimes!
The training is suffering, I’m still pretty ‘built’, the muscle is still looking decent and firm but I’m feeling rather lethargic and flabby around the gills, so to speak, though I am very active at work anyway. But other priorities prevail and they must be adhered to.

Having said all that, I’ve finally got a bit of a grip and I’ve been looking at my training programme again - in fact I’m starting from scratch. I’ve worked out an, indeed, ‘workable’ three sessions per week routine which should take just one hour each getting me back into shape. This I intend to begin later on today (Monday). And to make sure I follow through my endeavors, I thought I’d write this post as some kind of ‘promise’ to all and sundry that I carry this out.

Watch this space folks!:confused:

862

Well my return to the gym was relatively successful considering my lengthy absence from anything you could call constructive training. I was up at 12.30 and out an hour later and I hit the weights.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have devised a programme which should take between 45 minutes to an hour, but leaving it open to change if I have more time (and energy). That will return very soon I expect as it doesn’t take long to ‘get back into it’, however lethargic one tends to feel initially.

The first thing I noticed today was my decrease in strength. Although I don’t seem to have lost any muscle mass (except in the legs which is due to that knee problem), the weights I proposed to lift today had to be lowered quite considerably, sometimes taking a third off my previous standard lifts. That is a little soul-destroying, but it’s to be expected after such a long time away and so I had to keep that out of my mind and concentrate on merely doing what my routine advised.

I won’t go into as much detail as I used to do with my write-ups where I would list every single set, rep and weight shifted as this isn’t really the right forum for that, but I’ll give an overview of the day’s session and my plans for improvement. Today called for a ‘push’ routine focusing on the chest, shoulders and triceps and it went like this:

Beginning with DB presses on 15% incline bench which is a great shoulder exercise and is excellent for the delts also, I began with a rather lowly 2x28kg dumbbells which went pretty well. Four sets carried out in total reaching a max of 32kgs plus a ‘drop set’ of high reps with the 20kgs weights to finish off with.

Next I went for the machine-based shoulder press. Normally I would finish at around 100kg on this apparatus but I took things easy in case I did myself an injury. Nice array of between 70-90 instead with a 15x40kg finish.

Then I positioned myself on the pec dec. I sit quite low on this machine to enable the upper chest to be worked, then raise the seat for the final set to concentrate on the outer pecs. Again, four sets done with no problems.

The next exercise was the chest press. Like the pec dec, I alter the seat height on each set to work all the muscles of the chest adequately. Really struggled with this today and my max of 5x70 was disappointing.

To finish off with I did a few tricep extensions. By now they were burning which is the sign of good progress, but I still managed some good weight and ended the session after 45 minutes feeling reasonably happy with my efforts.

The thing is with me is that I need to get away from going for the weight all the time. I don’t need to get big anymore, I’m okay with my physique as long as I keep the belly in check and alternately, don’t get too skinny in the arms and so on. I need to focus more on doing a pretty intensive session but going for more reps with lighter weights. I’m not a bodybuilder anymore - at 53 that is something I am finally understanding to be ridiculous and pointless - but with thirty plus years of doing this it’s hard to shelve. I’ll do this week’s programme as it’s written out but from next week I’ll be adjusting my programme accordingly to suit my post-middle-age capabilities!

Regards:cool:

863

How nice to hear from you in the fitness section, Floydy. I have been a great admirer of your dedication to work and family through your wife’s illness. Congratulations to her for navigating her way to the halfway mark, though heaven knows she has every reason to be worn down. I do wish her strength and healing. I know this must be taking a toll on you too, and I hope you are finding rafts of positive experiences, like those little drives to school with your granddaughter, to keep you buoyant.

Though you steeled yourself for your hiatus from the gym, and as we have discussed on this thread elsewhere, there may be no greater athlete that the one who has to start over from scratch. It is a huge mental and physical victory! I enjoy the descriptions of your workouts, no matter how you choose to share them. I have picked up some helpful ideas from them. The worst/best day is your first day back, and I empathize with you on both counts. You did it!

Welcome back, Floydy! http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/funny/1/weight-lifting-emoticon.gif

864

Surfermom - such kind words and I’m especially comforted by your words wishing my wife well. It’s passed on to her and thoughts like these do perk her up a little each day. Thank you.:hug: Looking forward to seeing what your next outing training-wise is too.:026:

It’s also nice to hear that people may find some of my rather-unorthadox-training-for-this–kind-of-forum helpful. I don’t want to bore people but I think I will write out my full routine each time, but not in a great big long list like before. If it’s simplified onto a few lines including a brief method of execution of each exercise that may interest others and maybe even get some members participating in regular exercise themselves!:cool: Who knows. Anyway, today’s session follows in a mo…

So onwards we go with this week’s second gym session, and it was time to get the legs going again. As you know I’m active in my work and walk miles each night around a busy warehouse, but being used to lifting weights it was good to get back into some proper leg work again. It’s a long time since I did anything with my legs at the gym, apart from the odd brief few reps as part of a full body session – and even then that’s over a month ago, so today’s routine tested me somewhat.

Here we go then. Same format as yesterday; two general sets followed by a heavier ‘failure’ set and finishing with a set of lighter reps (known as a ‘drop set’ in the trade) where I pushed myself to the nearest five reps to ‘feel the burn’ – always a good sign that things are working as they should be.

Extensions:
25x45, 25x45, 18x60, 30x35
Apart from squats, which I have dropped altogether as my knees get really aggravated by them), I still have to be careful not to ‘lock out’ the knees when the movement is extended. No problems though and after a few stretches I moved on.

Incline press:
25x200, 25x200, 20x250, 35x150
Love doing these and I managed this exercise with ease. All the work comes from the sides and back of the quads. It’s oh so tempting to go heavier as I used to push twice this kind of weight, but it’s not worth taking the risk with my knees therefore I’ll probably keep this as it is next week but force out a few more reps.

Adductor (‘good girls’):
20x50, 20x50, 20x60, 20x45
For toning the glutes and inner top of the thighs.

Abductor (‘bad girls’):
20x50, 20x50, 25x60, 25x45
For the muscles around the hips.
*People say the above two exercises are just for girls but I think it’s important to train the legs all-round, not just the main thighs and calves. Besides, strengthening the hips area may keep away problems in later life.

SUPERSET: Seated leg press (sled) / Calf press:
(Two exercises in one on the same machine – first figure is for the leg press, second for the calf press. No rest inbetween except to move the stack pin).
20x150/20x130, 20x150/20x130, 15x180/15x150, 22x140/25x120
The top of my thighs were absolutely burning after this little lot, and likewise the calf muscles. For the leg press, it’s feet placed centre of the plate in front and pushing all the way and back bringing the knees up to the chest (or as far as the belly allows!). The calf part of it is positioning the toes at the bottom of the platform and using only the toes to push with noticing the calf muscles flex as you perform the exercise.

Seated ham curls:
15x50, 15x50, 10x60, 20x40
Seated upright, curl the feet back with the weight working the hamstring muscles. There is a lying (or prone) version of this machine but I find it pulls on my back too much, so I don’t use it.

Finished off with some ab crunches: 25x40, 25x40, 10x50, 25x40

Time taken: 50 mins.

I enjoyed all that! I like this format and, give or take a few adjustments with reps and maybe going slightly heavier on some exercises, I’ll stick to this plan. All was managed very well today I think. I worked hard but not too much to burn myself out. It’s for fitness nowadays, not mindlessly getting stronger for the sake of it.

I’ll take a rest day tomorrow and return Thursday with the third session of my routine which will involve the back, lats and biceps.

Thanks for reading:)

865

After going a bit further on Sunday and tackling a 9.5 miler along frost crispy grass on the canal bank, this morning’s eight mile run was never going to be easy. It seems the older I get the longer it takes me to recover. While preparing for this morning’s outing it seemed darker than usual and the reason why was the sheet of fine rain illuminated under the streetlamp.

We had arranged with some friends to meet up at eleven so I had no choice but to get out in the thick of it. As I stepped out into the morning I was surprised to find the rain had stopped and it was unusually mild, unfortunately I had elected to wear a waterproof top and because it was still dark I couldn’t see if the rain clouds had blown over, so I decided to leave it on.

The rain clouds had blown over and it was fine for the rest of the run, my legs were tired so I kept the pace sensible, and overheating wasn’t too much of a problem, but the time was poor and I’ve carried the tiredness on through the day. Bedtime can’t come too soon.

Nice to see you posting again Floydy, give my regards to Mrs Floydy and hope she feels better soon…

866

Hi Bob.
Seems ages since I was last in here posting, although I have been looking in occasionally.

That sounds like a gruelling run I bet the shower/bath afterwards felt fantastic. I used to enjoy running in the rain myself as it kept me cool, but as you say it does get bloody hot with a waterproof on!

Keep up the good work pal, and thanks for the well wishes to my wife:)

867

Floydy, I really appreciate the depth in which you describe your exercises. Since I don’t go to the gym, with a bit of creativity I can modify some of the work you are doing here at home after I do my step aerobics (with three poud weights). Plus, it just makes for an interesting read. I know that mixing it up is important and how quickly missed muscles can weaken, so thank you for the inspirations. You keep doing those adductors and abductors. It mystifies me why those are assigned to women and some men choose not to do them. It seems like they round out leg work for men too. Day two! You are on a roll…

OGF, you are the only person I know who can turn a chilly, dark, near-rainy morning run sound so appealing. I too had an appointment that shortened my distance today. It’s funny how five miles feels somehow like cheating :lol:. Nonetheless, I chose a route through the campus of a nearby college with a large watchtower that enabled me to keep an eye on the time without having to pay much attention to my running watch. Weaving my way between brick buildings in Williamsburg architectural style, it was a morning of people watching - young students studying under trees, one young man flirting with a pretty brunette under a vined awning, and a few stern looking administrators standing outside the student union - probably discussing something that had nothing to do with teaching or learning :002:. A cool breeze and a bright sun made it difficult to complain, but my legs did not get the message and in the last sprint, I somehow tripped and ran almost windmill-like to an uncontrolled finish :blush:. No matter, I saved myself without falling and with a good overall pace. (I meant to do that :lol:) Sometimes finishing standing up is about the best one can ask for - especially when you are thirty years older than the bright young minds about.

Tomorrow offers more time, warmer weather and the beach that will give my calves, quads, and hamstrings a proper finish before I begin the two day cooking and baking marathon for Thanksgiving.

Thanks so much for the continued reports. I always feel so inspired and reflective about my workouts - something I never really did before joining the forum.

http://www.pic4ever.com/images/bliss.gif

868

Surfermom, all the best for Thanksgiving. I hope it was an enjoyable day and that your baking treats went down very well with your family etc. It’s always lovely to read your posts and putting my green envy aside whilst I read about your adventures in that wonderful location you reside in with the (mostly) gorgeous weather, I love to visualise how general everyday life must be out there…oh well, back to dreary old ‘Ull I guess!

I’m always happy to report my training procedure as much as I can help. I know it’s all gym work, but as you say, maybe there’s something in there which is of help, perhaps in an improvisation kind of way.

Last week began well as you know with me fulfilling my objections of doing the first couple of training routines as planned…then it sort of fell apart a little! Thursday was due to be a ‘pull’ routine consisting of back and bicep work but I got up late and had to pick up my granddaughter as my wife wasn’t feeling up to it, so the gym fell by the wayside.
With Fridays out of the picture because of a food shopping expedition, the day was out of action again. Plus, last night we went to the theatre so, again, time reared its ugly head.

All was not lost and this morning I’ve had my “me time” at the gym. I didn’t stay long, but I caught up with Thursday’s abandoned effort at least. Here’s how it went:

Lat pulldowns:

  • hammer bar:
    12x60, 10x60, 25x35 high reps
  • underarm grip bar:
    12x50, 10x60, 15x40 high reps
    *If anything, these are great for stretching the lower back. Staying at a relatively average 50-60kgs, I decreased the weight for some almost frantic high repetitions at the end of each exercise. A good little warm-up to be honest.

Machine bicep curls, alt:
10x30, 10x30, 10x35, 10x25
*Seated fairly low on the apparatus, four nice sets of ten on each arm. Always a good exercise to get me set for heavier stuff later on.

Seated DB hammer curls:
6x16, 6x16, 6x14
Positioned on a bench with the back vertically upright and a dumbbell in each arm to keep the back straight, some heavy-ish reps on this today. I started with 14kg weights but surprisingly they felt a little light, so did the work with 16’s instead. It’s not so much an arm curl, more of a straight forearm raise to the shoulder which works the outer elbow muscles more than the inner biceps.

E-Z bar preacher curl, seated:
12x28, 12x33, 8x38, 4x48, 20x18 high reps
The big stuff. One of my best features (of the few that remain!) are my biceps; while the rest of me gives way to arthritis (the knees) or back pain, at least the arms are still nudging the 20” mark, so all’s well. On this exercise, I unlock the attachment on the machine which drops the elbow pad almost vertical instead of the 45° normal position. This enables me to curl the bar in a full movement of the arms which really tests the biceps. Focusing more on reps than heavy weight, I gave into temptation a little with a pre-high rep set of almost 50kgs. This was extremely difficult but it did cause the biceps to pump a little more than they are normally used to! The pic isn’t me by the way!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81K2Rhu6pOL.SY355.jpg
Barbell forearm reverse curl:
12x15

I had a little more time left, so I did a trio of general exercises to pad things out a little:

Shoulder press:
12x40

Chest press:
25x40

Tricep extensions:
25x40, 12x50

At the end of this little lot I was feeling pretty well shot but the arms were looking good, so it was a good morning out. I was also suitably refreshed. There wasn’t so much back work today as I’ve got a slight pain in the lower back, so I shelved that until next week’s session.

Time taken: 50 mins.

Later today I’ll be meeting up the lads from work for a few drinks as one of my colleagues is leaving the company, but it shouldn’t be a late do and I aim to be back by around 8pm.

Thanks for reading, have a good weekend all:)

869

I am interested to see you rotating between high rep and low rep sets. Do you feel more satisfied when doing fewer reps with higher weights, or the other way around. I am all about high reps. I seem to feel a lot less drained later.

Your bicep machine is sadly my nemisis. The problem is that I am only 5’ 4" and have never found one scaled for my shorter arm length.

I haven’t been surfing lately (flat) so I need to get on with some tricep work. I’ll get right on that after my afternoon run…

Happy weekend all around!

I hope you and your wife had an enjoyable evening at the the

870

Oh, OGF…where are you???

If you managed your Saturday run today, don’t you have a happy announcement to make?

Standing by…or running by…or something…:mrgreen:

871

Unfortunately Surfermom Friday’s and Saturday’s are days of rest. However…Sunday is jugdment day…:cool::cool::cool:

872

Hi Surfermom.
Hope you enjoyed your run yesterday and felt suitably exhausted/refreshed afterwards!:026:

The theatre production was very good, but unfortunately we had to leave at the half time interval as my wife was feeling very tired and poorly. It’s all part of the side effects of her treatment. I’ll probably be able to download the full show sometime, or buy a DVD of it.

With the high or low reps preference it’s really a bit of both.
I usually do a few sets of the lower reps, which focus on strength more than stamina, the high reps finish the particular exercise and I try to round those up to the nearest five reps. Forcing out those 2-3 extra reps causes the muscle to ‘pump up’ and thus build. Even though it’s lighter work, I find it’s less of a toll on the body part concerned and is just as effective as perhaps struggling with heavy weights all the time :slight_smile:

873

A cold frosty morning saw me turn out before it got light and run nine and a half miles, passing the 1000 mile mark for this year. Just took it nice 'n easy and enjoyed every minute, and it’s not wiped me out for the rest of the day. I even managed to help Mrs Fox with the vacuuming…:-D:-D:-D…Bring on Sunday!

874

Bob, I believe you’ve got almost 20 years on me. No way could I run over a third of a marathon, and then do the vacuuming as well:shock: And at the crack of dawn too, you superhuman, you!
You’re an inspiration to all on this forum pal. Keep up the good work:cool:

875

Thanks for your comments Floydy, I think a forum like this is a great motivator for all of us to take an interest in our fitness and health. Just writing a post and reading about others experiences on this thread makes exercising more interesting. Keep up the good work Floydy…:wink:

876

I think the three of us (and occasional sundry guests) do a decent job of keeping this thread alive, Bob.:cool: A nice combination of various forms and variations on the theme of fitness. Just a shame more people on here don’t keep as active. Each to their own though.

However, the way I’m feeling right now isn’t so great. My knees - especially the right one - have been really playing up during my night shift, plus I have a severe muscular pain in the lower right side of my back as well.
It’s easy to blame last week’s exercise sessions (after abstaining for so long), but it could be a number of other things.

We have a new sofa at home and although it is very comfortable, my wife is complaining of a similar back issue. But it could be my car seat, or the bed. The list is endless and I’m trying to slim down the options.

As for my arthritic knees, I blame the cold. Hell, I’m falling apart here:shock: But whatever is causing my creaky frame to fall to bits, I’ll continue my gym sessions this week continuing those on Tuesday (I’m meeting up with my cranky sister today!). There will be more of the lighter weights and high reps I think, which should see my fitness returning. That’s the plan anyway!:confused:

877

Good to hear from you tonight, and I will respond in kind, Floydy, as I am too late to bed, but one thought occurs to me:

Have you thought about adding swimming or at least some time in cool water? Swimming has given many of my friends with arthritis, particularly their knees and shoulders, significant improvement. Just a thought :-).

878

I used to enjoy swimming after a workout actually, but at my new gym there isn’t a pool, so I’ve never really got back into it except when on holiday. Again though, it’s having the time. And when I might have some free time, usually at the weekend the swimming pools are full of screaming kids so it’s a non-no unfortunately. :cry:

My training looks like it will be virtually non-existent this week as my wife is now in her last stages of radiotherapy. Instead of being zapped with lasers, which is painless, she now has to suffer a through inspection involving tubes and cameras going inside her, which won’t be pleasant.

I’ll be doing the chores such as collecting the granddaughter from school in the afternoons, which of course leaves no time for training. But in this case, the gym is the least of my priorities, so we’ll play it by ear.:confused:

879

Floydy, I certainly hope your wife can get these tests over with as soon as possible. I know the treatments are exhausting, and you both should be commended for trying to get out a little. It’s certainly important to have a few things on the calendar that you can do to escape the stress.

I was interested in reading about your approach to the weights. It sounds like you have had success with it for a long time, and I know there are a dozen reasons why it’s good to be back in the gym.

With a nice warm day, blue skies, and nary a soul in sight, I choose a nearby beach that is a treat for the eyes and punishment for the legs. I have noticed that I am wearing down more easily and am attributing that to some muscle loss (and heaven knows, too much eating last week) so I needed the challenge of loose sand under my feet. About two miles into it, huffing and puffing, I forgot my suffering long enough to realize that the surf was perfect (hip high and clean) :cool:. Sadly (hee hee, not really), I cut it short at four miles to catch a few waves before imminent sea breezes would make it too choppy and chilly. After I wrestled my way into my wetsuit, which is a workout all by itself, it ended up being a short session because my feet were completely numb after a dozen or so rides. I felt like I cheated skipping a mile or two today, but burned at least 10,000 calories trying to get out of that neoprene suit. All in all, it was a lot of fun!

880

Do you know I get a tingly feeling reading all these posts and No I am not sitting on the christmas lights. I just think you lot are an inspiration to us all.

Yesterday I went out running through the woods with my daughter. I tripped over some roots that were sticking up and went flat out on the ground. After my daughter stopped laughing she picked me up and made me promise not to run or do any more exercise until after her wedding.

She does not want her wedding pictures spoiled by me with any kind of bandage or plaster cast on! Selfish or what! :-D:-D