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Fitness Weekly Discussion
What have you been doing lately for your own fitness? Try out any new programs or exercises? Have any questions for others about your training? Want to vent about poor behavior in the gym? Started a new diet or have a new recipe you want to share? Anything else health and wellness related?
I’m heading into the West Virginia mountains tomorrow morning for a 3-day bike camping trip. I feel mostly prepared, but I’ve said that before and been wrong, haha. In weight news, I’m back at my personal favorite range, which is nice.
I finally got some free weights! I have been hunting for a set of dumbbells (2x 5-50lbs) for quite a while, but the prices (even used on Ebay/Kijiji) have skyrocketed so much due the pandemic that I just couldn't justify the cost. However, Costco recently had a $100 off sale on the Bowflex 552 SelectTech Dumbbells + Stand (which my BiL already has and loves) so I jumped on it... or rather, I agreed to let my family jump on it, since they wanted to get them for me as my combined Birthday+Christmas gift. ;)
I was originally worried that the Boxflex dumbbells might be gimmicky, and not as solid or reliable as regular dumbbells, but after using them at my BiL's that was fear was assuaged. They're solid AF, as is the stand. Speaking of which, the goddamn stand took me 2 hours to assemble last night because of how solid, heavy, and awkward it is. You practically have to be a bodybuilder already just to put the damn thing together!
I also feel bad for whichever delivery driver got my route. Both dumbbells were packaged together in the same box so it was well over 100lbs, and I could barely move it from the front step through my front door. And the stand wasn't much better, weighing in at about 40lbs. So I had to open the boxes in my entryway and assemble it all there because it was hard enough for me to even drag them much further into the house, let alone get down the stairs first.
cc: @Adys, since we've been talking about this.
I have a pair of those 552’s as well and agree they’re really nice. I got a broken pair for $100 a few months back and was able to source a 3D printed replacement part for about $15. Now they’re as good as new. I bring this up only to say that they’re not as solid as they seem, but you can repair them relatively easily if they do break.
Oh, nice. Thanks for the heads up! I'm usually pretty careful with my things, but if they do end up breaking now I know not to just toss them in the trash. ;)
Hey, just as an FYI: After looking into it some more, it turns out there is actually someone who makes and sells stainless steel & aluminum kits to replace the plastic and rubber parts in the 552 and 1090 dumbells. So if my set ever does eventually break, I will probably just buy those instead of getting 3D printed plastic replacement parts. Hell, I might even order some of those parts now, before mine break, because they look great and I much prefer knurled grips to rubber coated ones anyways.
Those look really nice. I'm not sure I'm reading the pricing correctly, but it looks like those could get really expensive -- but result in a really nice upgrade.
Yeah, it looks to be about $300 plus shipping for all the cheapest diecast versions of the parts, but even those are pretty great looking. And I'm sure they're a lot more robust than the original plastic/rubber parts, or any 3d printed replacements could ever be. Whether that's worth it, I don't know. I'm gonna give it a few months to try out the dumbells as is first before I order any of them, but I suspect I will probably end up ordering the replacement handles at least, which are only $100.
Whew! I just started lifting again after a 2 year hiatus. (mostly due to blowing my achilles right before the pandemic, not having access to a gym during most of covid, and then joining/working at a climbing gym without a weight section) Boy is it rough starting again. I am lifting literally half of what I used to and my working weight is the same as my old first warm up set. I know progress goes pretty quickly so I'm excited to see the gains.
Also getting back into running. Tearing my achilles really knocked off the alignment of my hips/knees so I've been apprehensive to start up again. However, I had a great friend that got me into running right after college and was reminded how much I used to love it. I'd really like to reintroduce those meditative and just plain endorphin filled evenings again. I even got a new pair of runners with extra support!
I'm looking to get back to the gym after a couple of years off, and was using the gym at the office before that. So I'm really out of the loop with what sort of gym membership I want/need, what it should include (classes? personal trainer? what machines?), and how much it should cost. Not helping the cost decision is my constant battle between being thrifty and realizing that I've worked in tech for 10 years and should spend more on certain things if it gets me better results. Any advice for what types of gyms I should look for? And approximate cost ranges? I live in the suburbs of a HCOL city, so I know they won't be cheap...but I just don't have any clue what to expect.
I've also been recommended pilates as a low-intensity way to build up core strength and prevent back problems (slipped discs run in my family). All the classes I've seen so far tend to be during normal 9-5 work hours...which isn't ideal for me. I think I'd prefer in-person so I can actually learn how things work and get feedback, rather than starting at home and having no clue if I'm doing things correctly. Also, I've heard that there yoga mat pilates and then a special type of machine (reformer or something) - can someone explain the difference and if its worth looking for the fancy machine classes, or just keep it simple with the yoga mat? Also any advice on what/who to avoid when it comes to pilates? My brief internet research seemed to indicate that there are many pilates-adjacent programs, and opinions vary on whether they are alternatives/upgrades, or grifters basically making exercises up to sell classes.