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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 have a race in one week that I feel horribly unprepared for after flu got in the way of training. I haven’t run for 3 weeks and I’m hoping I haven’t lost too much fitness in that time! It’s just a shorter race, 7km, so I think it’ll be fine and I’m happy to walk some if necessary, but I would love to actually do it well. Fingers crossed!
Are you feeling better? Use the week you have left to run a few slower paced runs to see where your stamina is at before the race. If need be, dial it back a bit. Won't get a PB, but should be able to finish.
Finally I am better! Went for a shorter run today, 3k, although I was somewhat hampered by being bitten by a dog right at the beginning. If I was superstitious I might think the universe was telling me to lay off running!
Luckily the actual run felt ok. Bit of a struggle towards the end but I think as much mental as physical.
Thanks for the advice/encouragement!
I've been gaining weight since the pandemic and lockdowns. Definitely still a healthy enough weight, but wanted to get back into shape. So I started running again. Just picked it back up this week after probably 4 years or so since I last ran regularly. Starting real slow again - .5 mi the last few days and .75 mi today.
I dug out my Garmin Forerunner watch to track everything (I'm very data and numbers oriented and if I can't see my progress in stats/data I will lose motivation) and it's been pretty good. Though going back to Garmin's old UI without a touch screen in 2023 after using a Samsung watch for the last couple years has been kinda painful. I saw Garmin is having a sale on some of their watches that came out last year and have been contemplating an upgrade. It might help if I've got a watch I want to wear daily instead of just when I run.
I have a Venu 2 and it works great for me, however I've seen that it's already basically abandoned. I saw suggestions to get the 265 or Instinct 2 (depending on features and what you want). DCRainmaker has great reviews and overviews on Garmin watches on youtube!
Yeah. I love DCRainmaker. Great in depth videos.
I have the Forerunner 945. It was a great watch when it came out in 2018, but by 2023 standards, it's pretty outdated. Plus, Garmin abandoned it and stopped updating it like 2 years ago. I was looking at the Fenix 7 Solar. It's $200 off now that Garmin has introduced the Fenix 7 Pro. Has a touch screen, a much better UI than the older watches, still has insane battery life, and is bigger and looks more like a real watch than some plastic toy like my Forerunner does.
I didn't realize that. I bought mine in August of 2021, so about 2 years ago.
Thinking about upgrading to the Fenix line next time around, but not a fan of a touch screen. I only use my watch for activities without any smart features.
The 945 LTE version still gets updates. The non-LTE version does not.
To me, the touch screen is a huge plus. They give you a bunch of settings to enable and disable it automatically under different circumstances. So I'd probably have the touch screen off during sleep and activities but on the rest of the time. Or you can just turn the touch screen off completely all the time.
For me, if I'm going to use it for activities, I want it to have a complete picture of my health and recovery stats. To do that, you need to be wearing the watch all the time. And if I'm going to wear it all the time, I want the conveniences of a modern smart watch, too.
Oh yeah I wear my watch all the time, just never really got into the smart watch thing.
I had an OG Moto 360 way back which I enjoyed, but never felt like it was "invaluable"
It's probably because I work from home and have my phone on me at all times, so don't feel the need to have another device screaming for my attention.
I love my Venu 2s, I didn't realize it's basically abandoned, but it explains a lot. It's had some...very buggy updates lately that messed with third party apps and the battery and GPS tracking (at least for me).
I just got a vivoactove (sport, though I think they’re all pretty similar in function) a few months ago and I’ve really liked it. The big bonus for me is that it looks like a normal watch and still functions as a watch if it runs out of battery. The downside is that you can’t use Garmin coach on it - I’m new to Garmin in general so I don’t know how much of a downside that really is having never used it!
Garmin Coach is pretty great. I've used it in the past on my Forerunner to help me get into shape more quickly. They give you a coach that provides video updates once a week or so and then load activities you should be doing onto the watch so when the day for that activity comes up, it pops up on the watch for what you need to do.
I love the Garmin watches. For workouts and sports, there's no better alternative - especially running, cycling, hiking, and swimming. I just wish mine had a touch screen and looked more like a traditional watch - hence being tempted by the Fenix 7.
Oh that does sound great! Which one do you currently have? The Fenix wasn’t on my radar at all, but like you I really like one that looks like a regular watch. I may have to check those out
I have the Forerunner 945. It came out in 2018 so it's a bit old. Doesn't have a touch screen like the newer devices and is a bit light being made of all plastic. I like heavier, more traditional looking watches so the Fenix is more appealing to me from a design perspective plus I'd get all the new software features Garmin released in the last couple years that my watch didn't get.
Thanks for sharing. The world of Garmin is quite overwhelming, there are so many choices! This really helped me narrow down what my next watch will be
No problem! Definitely do your own research. There are tons of videos online going over all the features of each of the watches. So I'd look them up on there before pulling the trigger on any specific watch.
One of my kids finished Girls on the Run a couple weeks ago, the finale being a 5k run attended by nearly 2,000 other girls and even more parents and supporters. I think it was a great experience for her and she’s gone from avoiding running at all costs to now voluntarily running every few days now. I’ll do my best to encourage this despite the impending heat and humidity of summer.
That same daughter and her older sister also joined a swim team this week, and today was their first practice. The team they’re on is the former home of a certain 7-time Olympic gold medalist, so seeing her name up and down the pool best-times wall should be a unique form of motivation. We moved into a new house across the street from this pool late last summer and I’m sure we’re going to be spending a lot of time there this year. And while the older kids are in swim team practice, I’ll be in the side pool trying to teach my three-year-old how to get started swimming.
joints adapt to loads. the biggest danger for joints is overextending and overuse. slowly ramping up weights and not being obese is the best thing you can to to keep your joints healthy long-term
What are your goals and current lift numbers that you are trying to improve on?
My personal goals are less about pure strength and more about capabilities. What if you tried gymnastics, bouldering, endurance cycling, or something else? They all will benefit from your existing strength.
It's cool to add new stories to your life. Imagine adding "Climbed a 200ft rock face at Banff", "Cycled from Seattle to San Francisco over the mountains" or some other major feat to your life's story.
Use the calendar as one of your metrics. Maintain is a verb too, an action word. You maintaining your training at a certain level is quite different than doing nothing at all. Inaction doesn't keep our body in good fitness, physical activity does -- including maintaining our abilities and strength.
If you have nothing that you are training for, make it a goal to maintain your capabilities through your maintenance routine for 3 months, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 -- etc.. Extending the streak, instead of adding sets/reps/loads.
Yeah tell me about it. I always get into my running routine, then winter comes along and I have trouble staying motivated to go out in the cold. Friends have said "just go to the gym and run on a treadmill". But I can't do it. It's so boring. I need to visually see progress as I'm running or walking.
I don't think I'm actually being very helpful here. But you could move closer to the equator.
Haha. I've thought about that.
Do it for your health! But also manage your climate disaster exposure.
I recently started rowing on a Concept 2 Erg. My one knee always gets sore when running, so I was looking for something low impact to compliment mountain biking. So far I've been loving it! Great for low-intensity cardio, but you can do some really intense intervals and sprints as well. Comes with a bonus of a pretty solid back and core workout.
I'm currently working through the Beginner Pete's Plan which is a really good introduction to rowing. After I finish that, I'll probably work on some variation of the Pete's Plan to maintain a good cardio base during the biking off-season.
I want to get a rowing machine. I'm just about to move though, so I'm going to put that off for a little while, until I get a new place sorted out.
Been using VR to get some much-needed exercise with Beat Saber, Fruit Ninja 2, and The Thrill of the Fight. It has been surprisingly effective, resulting in very visible physique changes (chin fat gone, smaller belly, slimmer arms with possible skin flaps). Never really been able to engage with most other forms of exercise so far, but not the case with VR at all. Alongside medication, hopefully bloodwork results next month will be satisfactory enough for me to not as the doctor said "keel over at any time."
I would love for you to elaborate, especially on the last two. I used to be pretty hardcore into Beat Saber. Unfortunately, when I moved, playing it turned into a chore. Now that i have a larger space I intend to pick it up again but I'd like to know what you think about those games, why you like them, what they train for you, etc.
Fruit Ninja 2 has a game mode similar to Beat Saber, except that it seems to be even harder in that slicing must really be done cleanly. This is due to the fruits just bouncing when not sliced fast enough, which count as misses. In contrast, blocks in BS cut rather easily and don't bounce away at all.
The Thrill of the Fight may not look realistic, but the mechanics very much are. No stamina, powers, or any other faff by default. Your body determines the limits, not the game (play space aside). It also has training equipment just like what can be found in a boxing gym. It's also one of the cheapest games for the Quest 2! Got mine for around just 2 USD, using a free voucher that came after not initially buying anything shortly after getting my HMD.
I had to rehab my right shoulder for a few weeks but have been able to swing my club for two weeks, so I started the first of 30 days doing a minimum of 100 kettlebell swings a day. I may add a pound or so a week (I have a pair of Bells of Steel adjustable bells, but am only swinging one). I actually did 100 swings with my kettlebell, then my normal club routine, but only made one set before my forearms quit.
I lost a lot in a month. My swings are slower, at least, but I wrapped up my routine last night with everything feeling wobbly from head to toe, and the only soreness this morning was across my calves and hamstrings, so I know I sort of hit the butter zone for my routine so far. I'm tempted to take the club work a little farther tight. I'll be mixing up the main exercises I do to keep it interesting, but still want to hit those swings as a primary goal.
I'm emphasizing shoulder strength and ROM because they've always been a weak, sore point for me and heavy club has been great for bolstering it.
I’ve been trying to get into lifting to build for arm an upper chest muscle mass. I feel very good about my legs, abs, and back, but I struggle with arms and chest.
I’ve been doing some bench press and arm curls but I’m kind of at a loss for what more to do. There seems to be so many exercises online but it’s hard to filter through any article because they are so clickbaity.
I’m wondering if anyone has any tips for someone starting out? What’s your favorite upper body and arm exercises?
Incline/Decline bench and chest flys to get the different pec groups. Dips have been heavily suggested for triceps growth for arm volume. If you're going for aesthetics/ muscle volume, do higher reps, at medium to medium high weight for more reps. I suggest 5 sets of 8 to 12 reps, but there are other paradigms out there. Make sure you're eating enough protein! I'd suggest somewhere around 80 grams a day for a middle of the road amount.
I do a variety of fitness classes throughout the week, usually alternating cardio and strength based. But I just discovered Strong Nation and I’ve added that to my rotation. It felt kind of silly at first but it’s a lot of fun and I’m really enjoying it! You can find classes online as well.