cheshirecatastrophe Member

Aw, walking is great. I've actually been the thinnest in my life when all I was doing was walking, since it wasn't enough to make my appetite kick in but still gave me a good and easy-on-the-body workout. But inside, yup, online fitness videos! You might be interested in the Walk Away the Pounds series, some of which are…

So, for rain, you actually don't want waterproof shoes. Water will eventually get in through the ankle opening, and then you're dealing with water sloshing around in a sealed vessel. My favorite shoes for rain running are generally less cushioned with a mesh top that dries quickly. The Brooks Ravenna 5 was great, but I…

Fleet Feet is a national chain of running stores. They'll do right by you and your feet. There's no reason to truck to Reno. Your gait may or may not change; your wants and needs in a shoe may or may not change. What's important is that you get the right shoes for you NOW. :) Yes, it's worth dropping $$$ at a running store…

Knee problems from biking are often related to a poor fit. Go to your local bike shop. Get him fitted on the bike. They'll adjust the seat height, angle...they can tell him whether the bike is too big or small for him. If you don't want to pay for the service, look up some YouTube/Internet tutorials on how to test for bike…

I don't listen to music when I swim, but it is ESSENTIAL for pool running (a.k.a. the most boring activity known to humanity). I use this cheapo waterproof MP3 player. The headphones leave something to be desired, but the player itself works great and is incredibly straightforward. You just drag and drop MP3 files to it,…

Come join us in the Swimmers group! We have lots of active and supportive members, from former Division 1 athletes to adult beginners. :) Equipment: a good competition swimsuit, a silicon swim cap, goggles. I like swimoutlet.com for cheap prices and good service. Speedo and Tyr are the go-to brands. Waterpro swimsuits are…

Well, the best way to get faster is simply to run more. You could try running farther on your three runs, but how far you can go with that is going to be pretty limited. Have you thought about following a training plan like FIRST? (Marathon or half marathon length). It is three HARD runs per week, plus 2-3 days of…

Definitely listen to your body first and your PT second, but remember there are lots of things you can do for exercise in a pool! Swim laps (different strokes), swim laps with arms only and a pull buoy, deep water running with or without a flotation belt, shallow water running/walking (on the bottom), a whole host of…

MFP has an amazingly supportive and active Swimmers! group. I swim 1-2x/week to cross train for running. Since it's so upper body-dominated, it allows my legs to get the rest they need on my off days. As far as my heart (also a muscle) goes, the key for me is to keep the swim sessions shorter and less intense. I also…

I use hand signals for turning. I don't tend to think motorists recognize the signal for "stop", although I'll flash it sometimes. I also wear high vis clothing (generally a construction worker vest over whatever else I'm wearing, though I have some expensive running/biking wear too) and run head/taillights when I think…

IF YOU DON'T SAY IT, IT WON'T HAPPEN. ...Please?

Honestly, once you get to bike shop level quality, the brands are pretty much interchangeable. The frames will have slightly different angles, so it will come down to what feels most comfortable to you. (The components--brakes, shifters, etc, will be the same or equivalent). FWIW, my hybrid commuter is a Specialized Sirrus…

I had a bad calf strain this winter/spring. I used the stationary bike on low resistance for ~4 weeks, then graduated to the elliptical for about 3 weeks, then slowly started to incorporate running again. I really should have just rested it, though. I am quite sure I dragged out the healing process with the cycling. And I…

Hm, I had a problem with dry skin last winter--the first time I was swimming regularly--but hadn't connected it with the pool! I bet you're right, though. I used one of Neutrogena's anti-aging/SPF moisturizers on my face and some kind of oatmeal-containing lotion on my legs (I'm mildly allergic to pool chemicals and I get…

Have you ever watched Arrow? Salmon ladder is my favorite Arrow character.

Way to work out your anger! Did you buy a combination lock this time? ;)

Welcome back to the pool! I resemble this remark. Although--one thing I find fascinating--coming back to swimming as an adult (also an ex-competitive swimmer), I am MUCH more aware of the biomechanics of the strokes, especially fly. Like when I was swimming as a teenager, it was a brute force upper body struggle. Now I…

With really bad legs DOMS, I like to go for a walk or a swim. Basically I walk, slowly, until my legs don't feel awful anymore. (Please note that even if you walk until your legs feel okay, they will likely not feel okay enough to run.)

If you are not wanting to lift heavy, you could check into bodyweight routines like You Are Your Own Gym or Body By You. Just follow a program that gets progressively harder. Also, if you want some upper body strength in your cardio, try swimming. You won't get super-ripped, but I at least built some noticeable arm…

Could be the novelty; could be the fit of the bike. You could try shifting the seat forward or back a little (the bike should have that capability). It could also be the height of the seat, although for *me*, that usually affects my knees before my hips.

How about 0 to 700 (yards)? One of the things that program suggests is to mix up swimming and deep water running (with or without a flotation belt). Pool running is one of the more boring ways to spend time in the pool, but I love it in that it can be as hard or as easy as you need it to be on a given lap.

I've been reasonably happy with my Nathan Trail Mix hydration belt. The pocket is large enough to hold my iPhone 5 in its Lifeproof (waterproof) case plus a gel or two. It stays in place around my waist and doesn't chafe. This summer, I upgraded to a hydration backpack, the Camelbak Marathoner. This is one of my best…

Interval training. Intervals near or at VO2max. 400/800 repeats are a good length. Hill sprints. Just...run more (longer distance per week). Strength training. Plyometrics.

So, y'all, I did it--my university (free) pool has been lost to renovations, and I actually, officially, paid money to join a real gym so I can swim. Which pretty much means I have to stick with swimming 2x/week or so to justify it. Here we go! Today is a run day for me, and I gotta go do that, but of course I had to check…

Welcome to the group, and to an awesome sport-for-life! There are some great video tutorial series on YouTube, if you're on the hunt for technique pointers. :)

I have a road bike and a hybrid. I use the hybrid for commuting. Here are the reasons: 1. I like the flat bars and slightly more upright riding position. It allows me to see better in traffic and gives me more control of the bike in bad weather/pavement conditions. 2. It has disc brakes. (My roadie is a Craigslist…

"Rest days" mean different things for different people. It's going to depend on what your body can handle, and on how hard you're working on the other days. For example, I am perfectly fine not taking rest days if all I'm doing is elliptical 45-60 min/day. Marathon training right now, I find I'm needing one REAL rest day…

Yes, that sounds like really bad shin splints from Beginneritis. A combo of "too much too soon" (how often were you running? how far, how fast?), bad form (probably overstriding--reaching out too far in front of you with your lead foot) and possibly worn out or improper shoes. Unfortunately there is no one magic shoe or…

Definitely talk to your doctor about this. Sprains come in a WHOLE spectrum of severity, based on how badly you sprained it and where the sprain is. What's great for one type could set your recovery from another type back a *ton*.

Yes, normally I would swim a mile nonstop, and then do a set of 8x50s/12x50s OR 5-10x100. If I have time after that, I do an IM thing, but that almost never happens. So what I do is I swim the first 50 or 100, making note of my start time on the pace clock (easiest to start at :00). When I finish, I check the pace clock…