Misc Chat Thread
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Hello all! Haven't been here on the SL board for a while (although still lifting) and just seeing what you all are up to. Looks like you're all up to no good! lol. Love all the biceps shots.0
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I need to type this out some where as I'm still pondering gym decisions since the one I attend is so far away. Other than that, I like it, the price is decent though cheaper is always a nice option just for budget. However, the current chain gym has so much equipment and options that it's great except the distance. So, 2 closer gyms are the main option (I haven't looked at the cross fit one cause reasons). There is closer 1 (non-chain) and closer 2 (chain).
Closer 1 (non-chain)
Pros - So close to current apartment I could walk/jog there if I really wanted to because it's just a couple miles away max. Minimal people so any time of day will work as I won't have to avoid crowds. Most of the equipment I'd need and it has an emphasis on weight lifting (though there is a small room with some cardio equipment). Price range is about what I pay now, slightly less on certain contracts.
Cons - Limited hours. No late nights and on weekends the hours it's open are even less as Sunday it's only open for about 4 hours in the morning. I don't need to lift late but it's helpful having options since my work schedule changes at random, so I don't know if I'll work close always or end up with middle of day shifts or even a couple morning shifts. I didn't see any steps and could barely reach the lat pulldown bar, so changing things on the cable machines will be a challenge if they don't have a step or box tucked away somewhere cause I'm short. Also, since it's not a chain, if I move again as I don't plan to have random roommate forever and might look for better paying job some time in the next year or so, that is a slight negative. Which brings up contract. My current one, I paid last month so can cancel any time. Both of the closer are more year or so contract based and what if I move.
Closer 2 (chain)
Pros - 24 hours. Not staffed the whole time but you get a key thing to open the door so equipment is available at any time. Has most of the equipment needed, though I don't know on the cable work just because I hadn't tried it there yet. Coworker goes to this gym. There are locations in other areas as well, including I think a small one right near where we work. Not a lot of people attend either so middle of day lifting and getting equipment isn't much of an issue.
Cons - Not as weight training focused. Have to take bar from bench or power rack to deadlift (but at least they do have one power rack unlike others I'd looked at) and the guy did say to be polite and not too loud when deadlifting. Basically it was worded as need to be courteous and consider others (so, no jerk then drop from shoulder height like I've seen someone do in current location to where the weights bounced up off the floor). Contract based and a little more expensive per month, though coworker says I should talk to someone else who runs the place cause it might be cheaper than what I was first quoted.
While I like the 1 better, the not 24 hours and the very minimal weekend hours is a buzz kill for sure. So, I'm leaning towards the chain if I can get a lower price than first quoted. The contract thing, needing to sign up for a whole year or more, I'm still not sure about. No decisions yet but maybe by Christmas I'll have one figured out.0 -
DawnEmbers wrote: »
While I like the 1 better, the not 24 hours and the very minimal weekend hours is a buzz kill for sure. So, I'm leaning towards the chain if I can get a lower price than first quoted. The contract thing, needing to sign up for a whole year or more, I'm still not sure about. No decisions yet but maybe by Christmas I'll have one figured out.
Most gyms that have year-long contracts will allow you to transfer the remaining time of a contract over to someone else for a fee (over here it's like 30$ - about a month's worth). So, in case of a move, you could always prod one of the current goers and see if they would like to buy the rest of your contract off of you, in a way. It may not bring you even, but it's not as bad as just letting the membership rot away. It's worth asking, at any rate.
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My current gym actually has a clause where you can cancel your membership with proof of relocation and 30 days notice, so you should ask about that as well.0
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Good points. I will have to ask about that when I talk to someone at the one gym again. No moving plans at this point but never know what can change in a year or two.0
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I don't know what's up but I've just been so forgetful lately. Cell phone either at home or work, that has happened before but it's been common over the past week. I've also forgotten a sports bra one day, grabbed shorts instead of a shirt on the next. Today, I had to rush a newsletter because I forgot I hadn't finished it yet and usually they get sent out around this time. First time I haven't had it finished by Tuesday morning. I don't know if it's just the overwhelm of how much I have going on or what, but this hit or miss type of days where I forget things needs to end soon. Don't want to forget anything important on my vacation.
/ramblecomplainingendshere....0 -
Ouch! I'm aching from yesterday's sports massage. He did warn me I would, and I hurt in all the places that were most tight so I'm not complaining, as such - I just need to whinge about the pain here and then get on with my day! Ouch. Thanks for listening :-)0
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I remembered to take a photo last night - apologies for the unattractive loo background - I'd have done it in the changing room but was worried someone would walk in!
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Oops, bit big! But I had been startled at how much more defined my arms looked, so I just had to take a photo :-)0
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Morning ladies - newbie alert.....! I'm not new to the gym, but fairly inconsistent with using weights, and then not using them to their best potential (ie a few bicep curls and lat pull downs from time to time). However, in my quest to enter the second half of my 40's even more fabulously than I spent the first half of my 40's (got divorced from the knob who kept telling me to "shift yer fat ar$3", met and married fantabulously gorgeous new man who finds my butt incredibly sexy, and haven't stopped smiling since).
So, I've decided to swap my Mon, Weds and Fri pre-work spin classes for SL 5x5 sessions instead.....I can still do the classes I enjoy in between (I love combat, and do quite like spin too) but I will be doing them because I enjoy them, not because its all I think I can do.
Today, therefore, being Friday, meant day one of the rest of my life haha! I was stupidly excited as I walked to the gym today, and felt a little guilty as I walked right past the pile of "spin" tickets on reception and into the gym. However, once I'd bagged my bench (the racks were in use, sadly) and nabbed my barbells, I was feeling no guilt at all, and thoroughly enjoyed it!
I'm looking forward to seeing the difference the change in approach makes. The test will be when I go skiing in January - that will be after 11 weeks of lifting, so I should be "ski-fit" like never before!
Hope you don't mind me jumping aboard.....
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Hello @kimiuzzell ! I'm quite new to stronglifts myself, been doing them about 7 weeks. It's getting results, and got me more inspired, so all good!0
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Welcome aboard, @kimiuzzell and @Ariadnula! I've been doing SL for a little over a year and love the changes I've seen. The squats are going to really make a difference in your skiing too!0
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justmytype wrote: »Welcome aboard, @kimiuzzell The squats are going to really make a difference in your skiing too!
Thanks for the welcome!! I certainly hope to see a difference when skiing. Sadly I have to ski with robocop braces since ACL reconstruction a couple of years ago So any additional strength in my legs will be gratefully received and utilised!!0 -
I can say that squats absolutely make a difference to skiing both in terms of strength to plow thru crud (aka the wet coast cement we get over here) and general ability to resist fatigue. If you add in regular split squats and step ups so much the better!
I weight train to support my skiing and climbing.
I am organizing a week long backcountry ski trip for my husbands birthday this spring. A helicopter drop off, glacier camping and lots of chocolate eating. Possibly some ski mountaineering but we will see depending on final location and snowpack quality. So I'm going to be adding quite a bit of split squats and step ups into the rotation. It's good that multijoint barbell exercises strengthen the core because that helps with the pack part of things.
I also need to up my conditioning. This will probably interfere with strength adaptations from barbell training by reducing recovery so I may have to reduce frequency to once every three days and get used to slow progression. I'm planning on 6-8 hours a week of conditioning work, 70% zone 2-3, 20% zone 4 and 10% HIIT/ hill sprints.
If you've never had the opportunity to camp on a glacier in the spring it is highly recommended. Sure your ski boot liners freeze if you aren't careful but OMG is it beautiful when the sky is clear.0 -
Nice pic @Ariadnula
Some end up kind of big. I have issues with pictures taken right from my phone too, so for pictures of me I use a web site (tinypic.com) because can download them on there at a smaller size for either emails or forums. Helps so I don't have giant pictures of me on the forums. For food I just let the pictures be big from my phone though, hehe. mmm food0 -
Man, I have new scales. I knew the old, manual scales were ... a little bit wonky. Whenever friends come to visit they say, 'oh, I like those scales, they weight really light!'. Hmmmmm.
So today we bought new, electronic scales. Ha - evil thing. It's only about 3lbs, and I keep telling myself I'm exactly the same as I was this morning, the number doesn't matter! But I'll have to update my weight on MFP and it's hard not to grumble a bit :-)0 -
Glad to see fellow skiers about!! As for the scales....aaarrggghhhh they are a demon for me so my new husband has banned them from the house! I get weighed at the gym occasionally but if I had them at home I can easily be obsessed... Not healthy for me!
Combat for me this morning and I can definitely feel yesterday's weights in my shoulders. Day 2 of SL for me tomorrow.... Still early days of course but I'm determined to crank my exercise up a notch and am already dreaming of the results!
ooh, and made banana and Oatbran pancakes this morning...... Toooo goooood!!!0 -
I prefer having a home scale because I go to the gym more at night or mid day and prefer to check weight in the morning. Plus, I have more privacy that way as I'm not one to stand around in underwear, let alone less, in a changing room. It's a struggle just to change still when there aren't many people. And morning just works better since it's before food and other stuff that makes it increase slightly throughout the day. I don't pay attention to the body fat thing but roommates scale doesn't even have that, as mine did, but the general weight was pretty much similar when I moved in and ended up switching since we didn't need two scales in the bathroom.
Though, I have on occasion stepped on the scale in evening just for kicks. I look at it more as motivation that the number is still way less than it used to be even in the morning since I started at over 200. But it's not something I record and I might do it maybe once a month.0 -
I used to be a 3 times a day kind of girl....definitely not good! I remember the days of taking off my nail Polish, believing it would make a difference
But now I'm in a much better place...and go by my jeans and how much wobble I see when I pass a mirror!0 -
I got rid of my home scale too. I couldn't be consistent imwith diet and excercise because I was ruled by the number - if it was up if get emotional and really restrict food until I was lightheaded for a few days and then I would eat a box of cookies or something. If it was down, I'd reward myself with food. So crazy. It's better if I focus on performance goals.
I weigh myself about once every month on a scale at work when I have a shift where I know I can weigh privately. Like the early weekend morning for example.0
