"TLFC" exercise and accountability support!

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  • nay0m3
    nay0m3 Posts: 178 Member
    Thank you @ninerbuff and green beans are making me hungry!!!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio: Treadmill - 1 hour incline (2.96 miles, 731 calories, 1868 feet climb)

    Analysis: Previous treadmill incline hills I did ten minute hills, keeping a moderate pace of 3.0mph while adding one degree of incline every minute, from 6-15. After ten minutes, reset and repeat, total of six hills. By comparison, today I did fifteen minute hills, starting at a brisk walking pace of 3.5mph and 6 degrees incline, added one degree incline and lowering 0.1mph every minute until I reached 20 degrees by 2.1mph. Reset and repeat, four total hills. Even with slower pace, the increasing incline really had it in for me, as I was sweating like a pig, totally out of breath, and my calorie burn leaped. When I got done I felt like I used to back in the day running 5k's even though I walked the entire time. More experimenting in the future, as these treadmills go all the way up to 30 degrees.

    Food: Lunch - spaghetti, Dinner - homemade French dip sandwiches with baked fries

    Life: Ran into an old gym mate changing to start his workout while I was post-shower. He's also been dealing with elbow pain, but where I quit lifting cold turkey for 3 months (only 55 more days til I hit the iron again, not that I'm counting), he opted to slice his weights lifted in half or lower and use both an elbow brace and wrist wraps to help offset his lack of grip but keep lifting. His arm still hurts him, where mine is feeling MUCH better, even allowing me to shake a hand without wincing and helping carry groceries into the house. Looks like I may have made the smart decision to take a lifting break. I'm already starting to think about my routine when I resume, whether keep my PPL-Full 4x day split from before or swap to a PHUL setup, even though my legs really do not need additional work. Either way, the weights lifted are gonna have to be light as a baby when I resume, and I can look forward to DOMS again after rarely feeling it for the last decade, lol.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    nay0m3 wrote: »
    You increase the resistance and the incline? I don't know that I have it in me to go so slow for recovery :) Going 130 feels SO slow to me! But I walk super fast by nature just through the halls at work and everyone knows I am coming by hearing my walk.

    Yes, both resistance and incline are increased with each successive hill, and my hour-long has fifteen hills. (Yes, that only adds up to 45 minutes, but between warmup, plus workout, plus cooldown, the total is 55 minutes, so I just round up to an hour.)

    I used to walk super fast everywhere I went, back in my school days. But then I got a desk job with rotating shift hours, gained 60 pounds, and lost my quick step. I've since lost the weight, swapped the shift hours for normal office hours, but still walk slower. People still know me by the sound of my walk, though, as my cowboy boots strike very resoundingly on the floor and the echo precedes me, lol.
  • nay0m3
    nay0m3 Posts: 178 Member
    @nossmf I experienced some elbow pain and backed off the lifting with moves that seemed to aggravate it (Upright rows for instance is one I recall) It got better but still will rear its painful head from time to time. I hope you can get back to lifting again soon!

    I am really inspired by your incline walks and I think I will give your method a go in the next few days!

    Cowboy boots are FOR SURE distinctive! I am in Vermont so noone really wears them and we would definitely all know it was you coming :)
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang!

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy Humpday! Full schedule and it's my long day. Busy day today and a new client.

    Cardio: jog/walk- 30 minutes (300 calories)

    Strength: biceps- barbell curls, dumbbell curls, high cable curls 4x 12,10,6.

    Assessment: 20 piece Mcnugget for dinner. Still was a little under in calories by the end of the day.

  • clairrob
    clairrob Posts: 38 Member
    Hey @ninerbuff do you use any apps to track exercises, weight, sets and reps? I'd like to start progressive overload, instead of eyeballing weight thinking "yes I think this is the right weight to fail from 8-12 reps"
  • nay0m3
    nay0m3 Posts: 178 Member
    I know I am not ninerbuff but I will chime in with how I track...I use an old school log book and I love it!!

    https://www.amazon.com/Cossac-Fitness-Journal-Workout-Planner/dp/B07PFCGH26/ref=asc_df_B07PFCGH26/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309802521785&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12369337938001015248&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003022&hvtargid=pla-670460007305&psc=1&region_id=674469

    It really helps me to make sure I am hitting it harder than I was last session or at least getting in an extra rep!!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio: Elliptical - 1hr hills (603 calories)

    Food: Lunch - taco salad, Dinner - soy chicken strips with buttered egg noodles

    Progress Tracking: @clairrob I'm another old-school pen-and-pencil kind of guy. When you first start doing a new exercise, the first time is often a guessing game about how much weight to use, even if you've been lifting for over a decade like me but are adding a brand new, never-before-tried lift, or swapping in a lift you've done but not for a while. So that first workout may not be the most "productive" in terms of maximizing effort, but it's huge towards setting you up for future success. As far as choosing when to increase the weight, using your example, I would wait until I could lift the weight for the full 12 reps in consecutive workouts before going up. A single workout isn't proof you've mastered that weight...you may simply have had extra energy one day, and next week you're back to "normal."
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang!

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy Thursday! Full schedule and class this morning. Looking forward to the weekend already.

    Cardio: walk- 30 minutes (200 calories)

    Strength: back- pulldowns, bent over barbell rows, seated cable rows, straight arm pulldowns. 4x12,10,8,6.

    Assessment: Panda Express for dinner.

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    clairrob wrote: »
    Hey @ninerbuff do you use any apps to track exercises, weight, sets and reps? I'd like to start progressive overload, instead of eyeballing weight thinking "yes I think this is the right weight to fail from 8-12 reps"
    Honestly no. I've been at this so long, I do everything by feel. But my program has been the same for years. I only train one body part a day (7 days a week training), 4-5 sets of 15,12,10,8,6 reps so I hit a little of every rep range.
    Some people on here have EXCEL spread sheets, but I've never really used any online programming for my training. LOL, I write all my clients programs for them so that's probably why.

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio:

    Shoveling snow - 30 minutes (pre-gym) (260 calories)
    Treadmill - 1hr variable incline hills (from 1%-30%) (743 calories, 2.69 miles, 2,002 feet elevation climbed)

    Analysis: Wanted to test myself against the max incline the gym treadmills could give, all the way up to 30%. Had to really slow down my speed to HALF my pace from 15% or below. While entertaining, I think I prefer sitting at 20% with a moderate speed over either lower incline/faster speed or higher incline/slower speed. Not sure I could mentally handle an entire hour of sitting at a single incline and speed, though, especially when my iPod battery dies minutes into an hour-long routine and the treadmill refuses to connect to the television signal.

    Food: Lunch - Hawaiian BBQ chicken with rice, Dinner - ground hamburger with rice
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy TGIF! Full schedule. Adding 2 more clients.

    Cardio: jog/walk- 3 miles (350 calories)

    Strength: triceps- pressdowns, lying tricep extensions, cable kickbacks, machine dips 4x12,10,8,6.

    Assessment: Popeye's chicken sandwich.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio: Elliptical - One hour hills (600 calories)

    Analysis: I felt all week like my body was adapting to doing daily cardio, considering the sessions were feeling easier (when I wasn't killing myself with extreme inclines, that is). Water retention is agreeing: the last two weeks my weight's gone UP despite being in very obvious calorie deficits, most likely due to extra water retention, but today's weigh-in showed a loss of 3# from last week, which lines up with my expected 1#/wk over the last 3 weeks total.

    Food: Lunch - soy chicken strips with buttered egg noodles, Dinner - ham steaks with fries
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy weekend! Workout and then regular chores of cleaning house and laundry. Raining again, so I can't mow my lawn.

    Cardio: jog/walk- 3 miles (350 calories)

    Strength: quads- leg press, squats, hack squats, leg extensions 4x12,10,8,6

    Assessment: Asian salad from Panera for dinner. I need to eat this again.


  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy weekend! Full schedule. Superbowl Sunday. Don't care who wins.

    Cardio: jog/walk- 3 miles (350 calories)

    Strength: hamstrings- lying leg curls, seated leg curls, stiff legged deadlifts 4x12,10,8,6

    Assessment: Ate at Korean BBQ place with cousins yesterday who surprised us with announcement that they were pregnant with first child.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy Monday! Full schedule and kickboxing tonight. Superbowl was okay. No good commercials IMO. I didn't care who won, but good for Andy Reid defeating his former team.

    Cardio: walk/run - 30 min (350 calories)

    Strength: shoulders- machine shoulder press, side laterals, machine rear laterals, facepulls, front dumbell raises 4x12,10,8,6

    Assessment: Sushi for dinner.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio: Elliptical, one hour hills (603 calories)

    Food: Lunch - honey soy chicken on rice, Dinner - French toast, scrambled eggs, bacon

    Super Bowl: Agreed on the no-good-commercials thing, but I found the game highly entertaining. I had no skin in the game, but I love close games. Doesn't matter if it's a high-scoring track meet or a low-scoring slog fest, if a single drive, a single play, can swing the game one way or the other, I love it. Of course, now the season's over, and I really don't care about basketball or hockey, and baseball has some time before starting, so I'm in a bit of sports limbo for a while.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy Tuesday! Full schedule today and kbox class. Nothing different yesterday other than it wasn't as crowded as usual for a Monday.

    Cardio: walk- 30 minutes (150 calories)

    Strength: chest- incline chest press, machine chest press, cable crossovers, machine dips. 4x12,10,8,6

    Assessment:Steak and salad. Went to bed early because I was tired.
  • nay0m3
    nay0m3 Posts: 178 Member
    I love this @ninerbuff "went to bed early because I was tired." Gotta take care of you!!!
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio: Treadmill - 1hr variable speed hills (static incline at 15 degrees) (768 calories, 3.2 miles, 1947 feet elevation climbed)

    Analysis: My usual treadmills were all in use when I got to the gym, so jumped on a different brand. Turns out not all treadmills are built the same, as this one was capped at 15 degrees incline, meaning I couldn't do my desired variable-incline hills. I instead changed on the fly to doing variable-speed "hills" where I kept the incline the same and only went faster/slower to adjust intensity.

    Food: Lunch - Pizza Hut pizza, Dinner - Valentine's Date Night (wagering at Olive Garden where I usually get the salmon)

    Life: My waist has grown notably slimmer over the last few weeks, to the point where I actually cannot use most of my belts since their tightest notch isn't tight enough for the new me. That's the good news. The bad news is my upper arms are shrinking as well, as evidenced by the way some of my shirts now are starting to hang loose instead of me filling the arms completely. Even a coworker who also enjoys lifting has noticed the difference. I'm sure some of the size loss is fat and/or water, but my fear is the inevitable loss of unused muscle as well, despite staying active and trying to up my protein from my old standard non-lifting day levels. Here's hoping I don't lose too much between now and April when I can resume lifting.

    Life 2: That same coworker is in the middle of a bulking phase, so we were comparing how radically different our diets are, him over 3k calories while I'm typically hovering around 1700 for now. In talking about how he eats, along with the tons of energy he has for lifting, I am so looking forward to April from a dietary standpoint as well, when I shift away from intentionally trying to lose to either maintaining or even *gasp* trying a slow bulk, which for me would be around 2500 calories.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang!

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy Humpday! Full schedule and it's my long day. Cold as *kitten* yesterday during yard duty and I was unprepared, so felt like a popcicle.

    Cardio: jog/walk- 30 minutes (300 calories)

    Strength: biceps- barbell curls, dumbbell curls, high cable curls 4x 12,10,6.

    Assessment: Asian short ribs, mixed vegetable and rice for dinner.
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio: Shoveling snow, 1 hour

    Analysis: Figured by the time I'd cleared the car and drive to head to the gym, I'd already put in a full workout anyway, so went back inside and baked a cake with my daughter whose school had been cancelled on account of the blizzard.

    Food: Lunch - chicken strips with rice, Dinner - sloppy Joe's
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang!

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy Thursday! Full schedule and class this morning. As busy as I was yesterday, I felt really good and not tired. Although I did the dumb thing and instead of changing out of my running shoes after treadmill intervals, I kept them on while I did my workout. My ankle was sore after that. Running shoes aren't made for working out.

    Cardio: walk- 30 minutes (200 calories)

    Strength: back- pulldowns, bent over barbell rows, seated cable rows, straight arm pulldowns. 4x12,10,8,6.

    Assessment: Popeye's chicken sandwich and fries. Still well within calorie deficit and my weight is down again.

  • nay0m3
    nay0m3 Posts: 178 Member
    I like following you two on here with your daily updates :)
  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Workout: None

    Analysis: Made it to the gym by 5am only to see a note on the door saying they wouldn't open until 8, no explanation given. No way could I afford to wait that long on a day when I commute to work, so no workout for me today. (Thought briefly about hitting the gym after work, but past experience tells me that's never a good idea for me. Energy levels suffer, workout always feels lacking, and I'd have to deal with crowds of other post-work-workouters, so no thanks.) Was actually looking forward to getting some cardio in after missing yesterday, too, which is such a bizarre sensation for me, something I've not felt since college almost 25 years ago. Not sure how much is the fact cardio has gotten easier as my weight's dropped, or if I just feel the need to do SOMETHING while I can't lift, but it is what it is.

    Food: Lunch - ground hamburger with rice, Dinner - chicken fajitas

    Shoes: I haven't had an actual set of running shoes in decades. Soon after I started lifting I learned how much easier squats and deadlifts were using hard-soled Chuck Taylor shoes without all that padding compressing and causing my ankles to shift around, and since I wasn't doing cardio at that time I let my son have my running shoes. I should maybe look into getting a pair if I plan on continuing this whole cardio kick, but I'm a cheap miser (when it comes to spending $$$ on me) so will just keep using my Chuck's for everything gym-related. At least as long as I continue walking on the treadmill I can get away with it; if I ever try to return to actual running, that would be different.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy TGIF! Full schedule. Can't wait to finish today!

    Cardio: jog/walk- 3 miles (350 calories)

    Strength: triceps- pressdowns, lying tricep extensions, cable kickbacks, machine dips 4x12,10,8,6.

    Assessment: Coconut chicken curry for dinner.

  • nossmf
    nossmf Posts: 11,513 Member
    Cardio: Treadmill - 1hr super-hill (712 calories, 2.9 miles, 1823 feet elevation climbed)

    Analysis: Instead of doing variable hills, altering either incline OR speed, today I did a single super-hill profile, starting at 1 degree incline and a fast walking pace. EMOM added 1 degree incline, decreased .1 mph, until at the halfway point I was at 30 degrees incline by a very slow walk. Second half of the workout was a mirror image, going faster at a lower incline as time went on.

    Food: Lunch - chicken sandwich with chips, Dinner - sweet & sour pork with rice

    Life: Rather annoyed at myself. Had composed my full message, but got distracted by a coworker's question, somehow hit some random key as I turned which caused my screen to go wonky until I randomly hit the "unwonky" button, but in the process lost everything I'd typed and had to start all over.

    Life 2: Realized something about my iPod music selection. I currently have about 3 hours' worth of songs, played in alphabetical order by song title. Everything being equal, each letter would have about 7 minutes of material. (Yes, I realized I have no songs starting with "X" or "Z" but the point remains.) What actually happens is I have over an hour of "A" songs, another hour of "S" songs, and the last hour split across the remainder of the alphabet.

    Lifting: Realized something else the other day while doing some online research about proper ways to return to lifting after an extended layoff. (More on that in a minute.) One article reminded me of something I knew but had completely spaced the other day. Specifically, I had posted how my shirt sleeves were feeling rather loose, leaving me concerned I was losing muscle mass due to inactivity. Per the article this type of muscular atrophy can happen, but usually over a far longer time frame. What I was experiencing was actually a loss of glycogen stores in the muscles due to not lifting, but the muscle mass itself was virtually untouched from before, and as soon as I resume lifting those stores will come flooding back and restore my previous size, or close to it. Obvious in hindsight, but still a relief to realize.

    Lifting 2: Now, the question part of my post, having to do with a proper "return to lifting" plan. When I start lifting again in April, it will have been almost four months since I stopped lifting due to my elbow. Whatever additional precautions I take like using wrist straps for heaviest pulls until my arm proves it's back to normal, I also know I don't want to just jump in with my previous routines and weights. One of the articles I found suggested starting at 50% of 1RM, increase to 60% week 2, and so on until I'm back to pre-layoff weights after about 5 weeks. Cool, I can buy that. What I have issue with, and would like a second opinion, is in the volume of the suggested workout. Specifically, it seems far too low at first, with a single "heavy" set of five reps for primary lifts, and a pair of twelve-rep sets for secondary lifts. For example, the first week of workouts looks like this, all done at 50% of 1RM:

    Monday
    Bench Press 1x5
    Squat 1x5
    Tricep Pressdown 2x12

    Tuesday
    Deadlift 1x5
    Lat Pulldown 2x12
    BB Curl 2x12

    Thursday
    Military Press 1x5
    Incline Bench Press 2x12
    DB Lateral Raise 2x12

    Friday
    Squat 1x5
    Bench Press 1x5
    BB Curl 2x12

    With each additional week you add a set to primary lifts, decrease reps on secondary, and increase weight across the board by 10%, until week 4 you're doing 3x5 primary, 3x6 secondary, all at 80%. After this, transition to your normal workout routine/weights of choice. I can understand slowly ramping up overall volume, but does this strike you as being just too little for the first week back? Even with warmups, I don't see any of these workouts taking more than 15-20 minutes.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy weekend! Workout and then regular chores of cleaning house and laundry. May go watch "Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantimania" as well.

    Cardio: jog/walk- 3 miles (350 calories)

    Strength: quads- leg press, squats, hack squats, leg extensions 4x12,10,8,6

    Assessment: Asian salad from Panera for dinner.



  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy weekend! Full schedule. Just a relaxing time after work.

    Cardio: jog/walk- 3 miles (350 calories)

    Strength: hamstrings- lying leg curls, seated leg curls, stiff legged deadlifts 4x12,10,8,6

    Assessment: Thai food for dinner.

  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,971 Member
    Hey gang,

    I like myself unconditionally!

    Happy Monday! Full schedule and kickboxing tonight. No school today so I get to go home early in the morning.

    Cardio: walk/run - 30 min (350 calories)

    Strength: shoulders- machine shoulder press, side laterals, machine rear laterals, facepulls, front dumbell raises 4x12,10,8,6

    Assessment: Sushi for dinner. Didn't end up watching the movie this weekend, but may go today since I don't have any yard duty.