Using It - July 9 to 16

[Shadow]

Hello, all :). How are the workouts going? Is anyone seeing any strength or cardio gains? What new and exciting things have you seen - any new muscle definition or endurance? I'd love to hear any great success stories you have to share :thumbsup:!

[Mitra]

Well, I'm still exercising - I think that counts as a great success story ;). I think I caught a glimpse of abdominal muscle definition in the mirror the other day :eek: . I've survived my revised yoga practice for a week, with nothing worse than a bit of DOMS (in my abs and hamstrings - hamstrings because it's been a long time since they were last stretched), so I started today adding in a bit extra. (My teacher gave me a list of extra bits to work through - gradually adding more flexibility on top of the strengthening work I've been doing.)

[Ottawa]

Although I have not noticed much new muscle in the past two months, I have noticed a little less fat, especially at the waist. Pants are a little looser, and I have a bit more endurance. My run/walk/run outings are getting a little more running in although I do get a bit of shin splints on longer runs.
One major change was the wedding/dance on Saturday. I missed about 10 songs from 8:45-1:20am. The dance was amazing and my first one that I was not a little sore the next day.
The only odd thing was the manner of dance done by many of the younger women now. Girl on girl or girl-girl-guy, it was something that didn't fit in at a family wedding and was more than just suggestive. It was way beyond dirty dancing but I've heard that it is the norm at most bars now.

Sunday - Long walk in the morning, short wieghts routine in the evening.
Monday - 1 hour brisk walk at lunch - Hand weights after dinner
Tuesday - situps and handweights first thing in the morning
Wednesday - 100 situps and weights in evening
Thursday - Volleyball and a half hour alternate run/walk
Friday - Volleyball
Saturday - Long morning 3 x up and down the WestPort hill.

[LisaS]

Randy -
are you playing real hardball baseball or softball after work?

(when I first read Weds plan I saw *crutches* for *crunches* and thought "well, crutches are a workout to use but who schedules them in?" )

[Ottawa]

It is simple "3 pitch" softball. You provide your own pitcher and get just three pitches.
I had not played in 4 years and struck out twice in my first game but have not done so again since. It is a mixed league and you forfeit if you do not have at least two women in the roster.

Sports would be my favorite workout with some form of strength training thrown in as well between games. I am also interested in running but not quite up to long runs yet.

[Shadow]

Well, I'm still exercising - I think that counts as a great success story ;).
Indeed it does :D!

I think I caught a glimpse of abdominal muscle definition in the mirror the other day :eek: .
How very exciting!!! Kudos to you!

Although I have not noticed much new muscle in the past two months, I have noticed a little less fat, especially at the waist. Pants are a little looser, and I have a bit more endurance.
Definitely great signs, Randy :thumbsup:!!! Sounds like you might want to think about incorporating some exercises (http://www.jumpusa.com/shinsplints.htm) for the tibialis to avoid those aching shins! You can also use a stability ball - but I think that's one toy you don't have, right?

[monkeyfrog]

I have been on PP since Jan 1 2006. I have been using the Slow Burn method of training for the past 4.5 months with great success. My bodyfat % has dropped from 26% to 16% and my lean body mass has increased from 141 to 147 during this time. Prior to April 1 I was doing cardio 6 days per week and working with weights 3 days per week but my LBM % just wouldn't go up. I am very happy working out twice per week now!

[Mitra]

Wow! That's an impressive change! Do you do SB at home, or in the gym?

[Shadow]

That's fantastic, Mitch :D! Congratulations!

[Ottawa]

Way to go Mitch.

Shadow,
I do have a stability ball and I'll give those exercises with teh bands a go.

[Shadow]

Randy - My favorite is with the stability ball - it just seems to work the entire tibialis much better. I'll see if I can come up with a site to describe it - if not, I'll just give it a whirl ;). Back in a flash :).

Okay - I couldn't find it so let's see if I can describe it. Sit on a chair with your legs extended and place the SB on top of your shoe laces. Resist against the ball as you raise your toes. It sounds simple (and is) but boy can it burn :eek:. I do, however, usually shift the ball at some point and have it more on my toes than my laces - but I can still feel the effects :lol:. Another thing you can do when you're not around your ball (and is a great warm up before running) is to simply tap your foot for 60 - 90 seconds at a steady pace (but don't do it too slowly). Soon you will feel the burn!

[Ottawa]

I'll play with the ball tonight.
We have a guy here at work who uses one as his chair to increase control and make him keep his posture correct but the exercise you describe sounds perfect.

I did fine a set of exercises with a larger ball (http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=fitness&category=workout.plans&conitem=710311073d3c4010VgnVCM100000cfe793cd____&page=0&pageLocation=true&print=true&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.menshealth.com%2Fcda%2Farticl e.do%3Fsite%3DMensHealth%26channel%3Dfitness%26cat egory%3Dworkout.plans%26conitem%3D710311073d3c4010 VgnVCM100000cfe793cd____%26page%3D0%26pageLocation %3Dtrue), meant to help avoid injuries.

One other ball I use often is a lacrosse Indian Rubber ball. I keep one in mailbox, one in the car and one at work. When walking I use one, bouncing side to side to improve reflexes and wrist strength improvement by squeezing five times before bouncing back to the other hand.

[Shadow]

Randy - I think if I used the stability ball as a chair I'd be on the floor a lot :lol:! Looking at your link (oh how I love the links you provide :thumbsup: ), I gotta tell you those Ys are tougher than they look! I've done the Ts with lighter weights but will confess they're not a favorite of mine :p. I've done the Ls with weights too but definitely have to pyramid down for them. The pushups I've not been brave enough to ever try ;). The glute bridge can be done with one heel on the ball (the other leg up in the air) - yowza! The front bridge is what I know as a modified plank. I noticed just yesterday that I had not done planks often enough lately :rolleyes:. If you ever get bored, try that side bridge with a medicine ball on your side :evil: !

Great job on that reflex work! It's always great for hand/eye coordination - something we all should focus on as we age!

[LisaS]

hehe planks - the caption to this one says that this is a 4 min weighted plank
http://www.crossfit.com/mt-archive2/weighted-plank-th.jpg

[Ottawa]

The above plank is incredible but looks quite dangerous. That looks at least a 35 pound plate, possibly more (50?) just resting on her back. I'm assuming the person taking the picture put it there and will take it off at the end of the move but I cringe seeing the potential accident.

One of the guys that plays baseball with us saw an accident at the gym last week. The person was not using a spotter for a weight that was beyond his control. He had not tightened the collar enough and when he began loosing control, the plates slipped off one side. He had enough control left to let them all slip off that side, thinking that he would then just let the bar and remaining weights roll or slip to the other side. Somehow during the roll off/release to the other side the knurled part of the bar slid along the inner side of his wrist, scraping/cutting a lot of skin off and he required medical treatment afterwards.

Since my weights are at home, I work out alone when doing heavy weights and that accident is a reminder of how easy it would be to have an accident lifting beyond what you can control.

[Shadow]

Randy - I have been thinking about that a lot lately! I've been doing heavier weights lately and have to caution myself against going heavier and being unsafe. I'm sorry that guy inflicted injury on himself - but what a great reminder that safety comes first!

[Ottawa]

Do you remember the scene from "Unbreakable" with Bruce Willis getting his young son to add more and more weight to the bar (ran out of weights and used paint cans, etc. up to 350 pounds)?

I'm sure that is how most of us picture ourselves, bigger, stronger, every day. I definitely know that I heal faster, have less DOMS with similar resistance, longer hair, etc., with eating this way. It has been like finding a new body, not quite "unbreakable" but definitely staying ahead of the "age clock".

When I got the bench and 120 lbs. of bench weights at a Yard Sale earlier this year, I had the Willis attitude of loading it all up and just lifting until failure. I would get the shakes around the 6th or 7th lift but always push it a bit more. In my mind my target was one more lift each time I used them but that definitely did not work and was an accident waiting to happen.

Also I was dissapointed that there is an actual limit and I was well under half of that movie image of just doing/adding more. I guess I won't make it into the movies. :lol:

p.s. Looking for a quote or image of Willis lifting the weight I found this ...
Some deleted (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=deleted) scenes of consequence include one where Bruce Willis (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Bruce%20Willis) talks to a Catholic (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Catholic) Priest (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Priest) about the accident. Another deleted scene shows Elijah (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Elijah) at 7 years old, he gets on a carnival (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=carnival) ride, (the kind that spins around really fast), of course you know how that is going to end up (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=broken%20bone). (I had trouble watching that scene (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=scene) because I knew what is going to happen, but I couldn't stand to see it). In another cut scene Bruce Willis (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Bruce%20Willis) sneaks into the weight room at the University (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=University) that he works at. He procedes to put 540 lbs on the bar, (then he lifts it 3 times). When he looks up, everyone in the room is staring at him in awe. The final scene worth mentioning that was deleted was a scene with Bruce Willis (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Bruce%20Willis) and his wife. They bump into a friend of hers, the friend mistakes Willis (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Willis) for some other man that his wife (http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=wife) was interested in.

[Shadow]

Ah Randy - even if you never make it to the movies, you're still our superstar :D! Believe me, I know the "push more" syndrome and then have nightmare flashes of dropping the weight and either crushing my chest (if I'm doing bench presses) or the weights plummeting through the floor (when I'm doing leg work) :rolleyes:. I would say when it comes to safety and not having a spotter, heavier isn't always the best decision :razz: .

[Mitra]

Not to mention that I managed to overwork my knees a few weeks ago without using any weights at all! (Luckily it was only slight, and they were fine after a week or two of lighter work, but you don't need heavy weights to overdo it :(. )

[Shadow]

Mitra - How right you are! Sometimes the body's weight is more than enough resistance ;).

[Ottawa]

I had mentioned in an earlier post, Stephen King's "Stationary Bike", a story of obsessive exercise and Lipid profile. It is not one of his best short stories but interesting in the context of going overboard (mentally and physically).
http://simonsays.com/assets/isbn/0743555619/F_0743555619.gif
The reason that I bring it up is that it covers part of what is covered earlier in this thread about "overdoing" it. On top of that the person is obsessive-compulsive and has visualized the "Lipid Road Crew" as overworked in his case through his obesity and poor eating habits.

I doubt if any of us would ever go to these extremes and none if us would ever have converstations with the guys working inside us (Lipid Crew) but it is a fascinating little story including exercise, lipid numbers and how to become obsessive with exercise.
The closest I have come to this is using an inclined bench watching an action movie (like Resident Evil II) and working out to action scenes and a driving beat and realizing as the movie ends you are still doing crunches. lefts. etc. and have no idea how much time passed other than a little DOMS later on.

"Stationary Bike" goes well beyond that on how the mind moves into an almost dreamlike state when doing a repetative exercise for an hour or two, as this guy stares at an image on the wall and bikes his way down these roads in the image. Eventually he lives for the exercise, not for the Lipid benefit but for the life he lives while biking through New England and up to Canada, sensing and smelling everything that goes by. Also he is aware that a vehicle is closing on him from behind, a little closer every time he exercises. It is the almost unemployed Lipid Crew, angry that they have no work now and they are falling behind on payments, etc., while he continues to improve himself.

A very far stretch of the imagination and unfortunately not low carb but an amusing read/listen.

[root]

I am a big fan of the reclined bike because it works your transverse abdominal muscles; those on each side of the abdomin because you have to stabilize to keep your body upright, spinning fast with out holding on with hands will further develop those because your abdominal muscles are working to keep you upright. The other reason I like it is that it gives your calf's a good workout. The last reason is probably the greatest benefit...lubricating and improving knee function.

[Ottawa]

Although I did not have a reclined model, I always found the Stationary bike the quickest way to work up a sweat over any other piece of equipment. I miss it every now and then for the change that it offered and will start watching Yard Sales again.


I will be gone for a week beginning in an hour but will get a workout in every day where we are going. Hang in and I'll see you when I get back.