The Ongoing Fitness and Exercise Thread

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

Vision Essence is reccomended by my optometrist. He's been a buddy of mine since junior high, one of the most book smart people I've ever met, and because of that I just do what he tells me. No idea what's in it, he says "take this" I say ok. Any other medical professional I'd look into it but still take it lol.

Lean bulk vs dirty bulk... no idea, just want to be healthier and wouldn't mind having a bit more on my frame. While I'm up 30lbs, you can't really tell if I'm just hanging out in jeans and a shirt.

Just looking for ways to add here and there, if not too much hassle.

Long story short, I think you should consider just incrementally increasing your normal portion size, rather than jump to a bulk up. If you can also add an extra semi healthy snack at night, that's great too. That way you can dial it back and stabilize a weight without too much difficulty once you hit your target.

Although your post alluded to bulking up due to the gainer powders and stuff, I don't know you should do a bulk. I think you should aim to do it slow and steady. Eat an extra snack every few days, bonus if it's calorie dense, and/or increase your regular portions slowly by 10-20% etc. I personally wouldn't recommend weight gain supplement.

That way you can slowly dial back once you hit your desired weight, vs keeps going past your desired target. When I increased my weight from 140-150, I was on average keeping around 2-3 pounds a month for about 10-14 months, mostly a clean bulk as the increase was via increase in calories per meal vs snacking. Back then, I could go Joey Chestnut and just destroy food, but only maybe fluctuate like 1-3 pounds in weight over a weekend (140-150 lb range). Now I can fluctuate 6-12 pounds over a weekend like thanksgiving or just general family celebratory feast (180-200 lb range within weeks). Once I hit 170-180 ish, I was keeping another 2-3 pounds a year, but also with an extremely aggressive up and down weight gain/loss cycle depending on calorie intake from new eating habits.

I didn't realize that the weight retention and fluctuation from food could differ so substantially once I was in a different weight class. The medical professionals aren't currently concerned after I've done a ton of stress tests over the last few years (although they were originally not happy about the rapid weight gain). But I personally still don't think it's healthy long term to have monthly fluctuations in my weight like I'm aggressively cutting to meet competition weight for competitions with weight classes. That's why I highly recommend to do it really slow. I totally understand what you mean about gaining weight and feeling like I was less injury prone, but just offering a warning based on my own situation in doing a rapid gain. Your body may not continue to behave identically when you have an extra 10-20 pounds.

People don't typically plateau for weight gain. If anything it can just end up running away on you. If you want to gain and keep 20-30 pounds, I think you should aim to do it slowly, like over several years kind of thing vs a few months. My doctor told me to target 1 pound a month which is really slow vs the 2-3 I was averaging for a year. For your situation, as long as you eat something late at night, I think it's OK. Slowly work on expanding your stomach or just getting comfortable eating slightly more food regardless of what it is, preferably more carbs, sugars etc. I think granola bars or an extra piece of meat at meals/a piece of meat as a snack etc. are good~ish long term habits. Once you hit your desired weight, you can then tweak the foods you're consuming towards something more healthy.

Good luck.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Any runners here?
I ran my first organized race in over 10 years today. Just a 10 km, but nice to be in that environment again. Great loop around Stanley Park too, beautiful route to run.

Ran at a 5:08/km pace; and have my 5km down to under a 5 min/km pace now. Hoping to get to a sub 20 min 5km soon, though I'm still prioritizing strength training with Hyrox coming up in 9 weeks.

[Shazam]

Sub-20 will win you a lot of races.

[WhiteTiger]

I finally broke past my 1.5 year plateau of 255, have been plummeting in weight since, and able to maintain it, to the point where I've had to buy all new clothes.


That's an interesting incentive, to keep hard at it, because I went through and got rid of all my old clothes, and now I don't want to have to go buy 'big' clothes again.

[Captain Otto]

For anyone looking for something different, I went to straight kettlebells almost 3 years ago now after probably 30+ years of traditional weights. It was the best decision I ever made as far as fitness, especially as I age.

It was a little daunting to get started and I started with a couple of cheap bells of different sizes. I watched a ton of videos and tried to read as much as I could. It led me to some of the big personalities in the kettlebell world and I started to follow some of that programming.

This led me to other related workouts using maces and sandbags.

I have never looked back and I have never been in such good shape. And it's not just strength. My fitness and mobility is a million times better than it's ever been. I can do things I have never even dreamed of - strength in certain positions, functional strength, etc.

I never do cardio since it's built in to most workouts.

I never "focus" on a particular body part like you would in traditional weightlifting. I generally stick with cleans, presses, snatches, squats, rows, and pushups. The beauty is that you can do double KB work which forces full power and strength or singles/offset which forces you to balance and strengthen the off side.

And while I do a fair amount of purposeful core work, with KB's you can't help but get a core workout doing the above exercises - nothing like a big day of double KB racked squats and waking up the next morning feeling like your core went 10 rounds with Tyson.

Anyway, I could go on, but I cannot recommend it enough for those looking for something different and maybe getting bored of working out.

Also, I have been using a Whoop band for a few months and it has been incredible. It's far from just a fitness tracker and it's depth of insight has been a major motivation for me going forward. It's a bit pricey and a subscription, but I feel it's been worth it.

[bettercallbettman]

Anyone gave Yoga a shot?

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

I need to get back into taking creatine. More for the cognitive benefits than physical benefits.

Mixing it wise, I recall this. I don't think it dissolves well in cold water and I read you either need a warmer temp drink or you may want to look into a battery drink stirrer/frother. The suggestion to add water and swirl to get any missed is a good one too.

I've started adding it to my hot coffee in the morning. It dissolves much better. Not sure why I didn't think of this before.

[FlamingHomer]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

I've started adding it to my hot coffee in the morning. It dissolves much better. Not sure why I didn't think of this before.

Depending on who you want to believe, caffeine may decrease the efficacy of the creatine.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by FlamingHomer

Depending on who you want to believe, caffeine may decrease the efficacy of the creatine.

Hah so I suppose mixing it in with my pre workout may not be the best idea? Interesting, gotta do some reading

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by FlamingHomer

Depending on who you want to believe, caffeine may decrease the efficacy of the creatine.

I didn't add anything to the original post about creatine, but I found that I started losing significant amounts of hair shortly after I began taking creatine. This was last year, when I was 63 years old and had no previous hair loss up until that point, despite me being hair-loss-adjacent, genetically speaking.

I stopped taking creatine and, while it took a few months for the hair loss to subside, it did, and I'm not losing hair anymore a year later. I've seen conflicting research on creatine and hair loss, but for me (and I realize I am a VERY small sample size), there appears to be a correlation.

Just sharing my experience with it.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Captain Otto

For anyone looking for something different, I went to straight kettlebells almost 3 years ago now after probably 30+ years of traditional weights. It was the best decision I ever made as far as fitness, especially as I age.

It was a little daunting to get started and I started with a couple of cheap bells of different sizes. I watched a ton of videos and tried to read as much as I could. It led me to some of the big personalities in the kettlebell world and I started to follow some of that programming.

This led me to other related workouts using maces and sandbags.

I have never looked back and I have never been in such good shape. And it's not just strength. My fitness and mobility is a million times better than it's ever been. I can do things I have never even dreamed of - strength in certain positions, functional strength, etc.

I never do cardio since it's built in to most workouts.

I never "focus" on a particular body part like you would in traditional weightlifting. I generally stick with cleans, presses, snatches, squats, rows, and pushups. The beauty is that you can do double KB work which forces full power and strength or singles/offset which forces you to balance and strengthen the off side.

And while I do a fair amount of purposeful core work, with KB's you can't help but get a core workout doing the above exercises - nothing like a big day of double KB racked squats and waking up the next morning feeling like your core went 10 rounds with Tyson.

Anyway, I could go on, but I cannot recommend it enough for those looking for something different and maybe getting bored of working out.

Also, I have been using a Whoop band for a few months and it has been incredible. It's far from just a fitness tracker and it's depth of insight has been a major motivation for me going forward. It's a bit pricey and a subscription, but I feel it's been worth it.

Would you mind sharing who you've followed and/or your own workouts? I've been incorporating kettlebell exercises over the last few years.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by bettercallbettman

Anyone gave Yoga a shot?

I strongly recommend yoga if you are into strength training. Whenever I get back into yoga after not doing it for a while, I am quickly reminded how tight my body becomes - not in a good way - when I'm not practicing it. An added bonus of yoga is the mindfulness aspect of it, which also helps me be more mindful while doing cardio and strength training.

[mogg]

I second all of the above. Highly recommended as a foundational practice.

In my world the Yoga with Adriene videos are tops- there are short and gentle ones, longer more intense ones, general and targeted, beginner and advanced. Plus they’re free (with subscriber options) and usually feature Benji, the legendary blue heeler.

[Captain Otto]

Originally Posted by D as in David

Would you mind sharing who you've followed and/or your own workouts? I've been incorporating kettlebell exercises over the last few years.

Ya for sure.

The main ones have been Dan John, Geoff Neuport, Mark Wildman and Pat Flynn with probably a half dozen other random guys but those are the four most influential.

I have downloaded a fair number of different programs (most are free) over the years and if u shoot me a PM, I can make those available through whatever is most convenient for you. That said, the best programs I have run through are the following:

The Giant (Neuport)
Maximorum (Neuport)
Simple and Sinister
Dry Fighting Weight (and the redux)
102 Kettlebell Workouts (Neuport)
Kettlebell Hard! (Neuport)
Racked and Loaded (Flynn)
Project Bellplex (Pat Damiano - he's got a list of great complexes).

That's where I would start.

Instagram and Reddit have been excellent as resources with those guys above being great. Add in @thekb6ix @anti.dadbod.squad @cameronahouse @themartinmethod @kettlebellarmy






Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by D as in David

I strongly recommend yoga if you are into strength training. Whenever I get back into yoga after not doing it for a while, I am quickly reminded how tight my body becomes - not in a good way - when I'm not practicing it. An added bonus of yoga is the mindfulness aspect of it, which also helps me be more mindful while doing cardio and strength training.

This is all great advice and I should really get into it again. During COVID my wife and I used to do yoga a couple times a week at home, we followed along with Sara Beth Yoga on YouTube. We’re both very much beginners, but it feels great and it can help with some strength and balance. I enjoy is as a supplementary type of exercise on days off from the gym. I maybe do yoga once a month now which is too bad, I’d like to do more.

[calf]

Originally Posted by bettercallbettman

Anyone gave Yoga a shot?

Do it!

A couple months ago I got a bout of sciatica - massive pain in my lower back and then into my glutes whenever I moved a certain way. I usually rest up when I get an injury but this was on another level and got me to call a physio that day. They put me into a series of stretches which I continue to do, but I've added yoga into my routine as well (starting with beginner classes via the Peloton app).

The pain resolved itself after a couple of weeks, but I've noticed that continuing it, I'm moving a lot better in my everyday life, so will be keeping it going.

Sent from my Pixel 9 using Tapatalk

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Captain Otto

For anyone looking for something different, I went to straight kettlebells almost 3 years ago now after probably 30+ years of traditional weights. It was the best decision I ever made as far as fitness, especially as I age.

It was a little daunting to get started and I started with a couple of cheap bells of different sizes. I watched a ton of videos and tried to read as much as I could. It led me to some of the big personalities in the kettlebell world and I started to follow some of that programming.

This led me to other related workouts using maces and sandbags.

I have never looked back and I have never been in such good shape. And it's not just strength. My fitness and mobility is a million times better than it's ever been. I can do things I have never even dreamed of - strength in certain positions, functional strength, etc.

I never do cardio since it's built in to most workouts.

I never "focus" on a particular body part like you would in traditional weightlifting. I generally stick with cleans, presses, snatches, squats, rows, and pushups. The beauty is that you can do double KB work which forces full power and strength or singles/offset which forces you to balance and strengthen the off side.

And while I do a fair amount of purposeful core work, with KB's you can't help but get a core workout doing the above exercises - nothing like a big day of double KB racked squats and waking up the next morning feeling like your core went 10 rounds with Tyson.

Anyway, I could go on, but I cannot recommend it enough for those looking for something different and maybe getting bored of working out.

Also, I have been using a Whoop band for a few months and it has been incredible. It's far from just a fitness tracker and it's depth of insight has been a major motivation for me going forward. It's a bit pricey and a subscription, but I feel it's been worth it.

I'm a Whoop guy too, and absolutely was loving it; but recently upgraded to the 5.0 from the 4.0 and have been a bit disappointed.

The extended battery life is awesome, but it's often not picking up my activities automatically like the 4.0 did and even missed an entire night of sleep data recently.
Maybe I need to contact support and it's just my strap, but after extending my membership to the end of 2026, I'm feeling a bit ripped off.
Especially with so many competitors coming out that don't have a subscription model.

[Captain Otto]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I'm a Whoop guy too, and absolutely was loving it; but recently upgraded to the 5.0 from the 4.0 and have been a bit disappointed.

The extended battery life is awesome, but it's often not picking up my activities automatically like the 4.0 did and even missed an entire night of sleep data recently.
Maybe I need to contact support and it's just my strap, but after extending my membership to the end of 2026, I'm feeling a bit ripped off.
Especially with so many competitors coming out that don't have a subscription model.

I only have the 5.0 so I don't really have a reference.

There has been only one night that was clearly wrong for my sleep times. I just edited it. But I get it, kinda makes you wonder.

I don't get the autodetect activity idea. I just turn on the activity before I start. Maybe Im missing something.

I tried the Amazfit Helios first. And it's fine as a simple tracker. Looks like the new Polar is similar. I just like the insights and whoop coach as it provides so much more than just data.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Captain Otto

For anyone looking for something different, I went to straight kettlebells almost 3 years ago now after probably 30+ years of traditional weights. It was the best decision I ever made as far as fitness, especially as I age.

It was a little daunting to get started and I started with a couple of cheap bells of different sizes. I watched a ton of videos and tried to read as much as I could. It led me to some of the big personalities in the kettlebell world and I started to follow some of that programming.

This led me to other related workouts using maces and sandbags.

I have never looked back and I have never been in such good shape. And it's not just strength. My fitness and mobility is a million times better than it's ever been. I can do things I have never even dreamed of - strength in certain positions, functional strength, etc.

I never do cardio since it's built in to most workouts.

I never "focus" on a particular body part like you would in traditional weightlifting. I generally stick with cleans, presses, snatches, squats, rows, and pushups. The beauty is that you can do double KB work which forces full power and strength or singles/offset which forces you to balance and strengthen the off side.

And while I do a fair amount of purposeful core work, with KB's you can't help but get a core workout doing the above exercises - nothing like a big day of double KB racked squats and waking up the next morning feeling like your core went 10 rounds with Tyson.

Anyway, I could go on, but I cannot recommend it enough for those looking for something different and maybe getting bored of working out.

Also, I have been using a Whoop band for a few months and it has been incredible. It's far from just a fitness tracker and it's depth of insight has been a major motivation for me going forward. It's a bit pricey and a subscription, but I feel it's been worth it.

When the gyms were closed during the pandemic, kettlebells were my primary workout tool. I used a really simple routine of 3 set of 20 squats and 20 swings. Some days I would do the 3 sets separately with rests in between and others I would try and get through all 3 sets consecutively with no rests.

The workouts were typically less than 5 minutes but kicked my ass. Both my cardio and strength were up. Pretty small time commitment for relatively large gains. Recovery was a good 10-20 minutes though.

I have two friends, who have let themselves go. They both cite time and motivation as reasons they can't work out. I've been trying to get them on the kettlebells. As you can do the workout in your home, at your own schedule and they take hardly any time. One bought a kettlebell, but doesn't use it much. The other is too stubborn to go that far.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by Captain Otto

I only have the 5.0 so I don't really have a reference.

There has been only one night that was clearly wrong for my sleep times. I just edited it. But I get it, kinda makes you wonder.

I don't get the autodetect activity idea. I just turn on the activity before I start. Maybe Im missing something.

I tried the Amazfit Helios first. And it's fine as a simple tracker. Looks like the new Polar is similar. I just like the insights and whoop coach as it provides so much more than just data.

Check your settings to see if auto detection is on.
My 4.0 would know when I was weight lifting, running, golfing, long walks. It was super cool as it can just detect which activity you're doing based on past learning of your metrics.
No need to "start activity".
The 5.0 misses a lot of activities, but maybe I got a lemon. It did pick up my weight lifting today.