MikePfirrman Member

Easy hour of cardio, though I mixed it up a bit. half hour on the treadmill (just walking uphill @ 15% incline -- I can't run anymore) and then half an hour on the Assault Bike.

I don't feel the need for Creatine, but a supplement that a lot of folks don't know about is D-Ribose. I learned about it when my wife had Fibromyalgia (since mostly recovered). Women with Fibro don't recover well from exercise. They stay sore for days longer than most. D-Ribose is a cheap supplement that assists with…

Harder 8 minute intervals at lunch (after my lift this AM) with 2 minute recoveries. Did first two on LateralX and last two on Assault Bike. HR hit 91% of max on last interval. Not as hard as the rower, but served its purpose of longer interval training without reaggravating the trigger finger, which is feeling better.

I think you're right on track with the tight hammies having something to do with your back. Year ago, I met a guy was really well known (he worked on my wife -- she had Piriformis Syndrome at that time) for muscle work. This guy worked a ton of famous athletes out of Cincinnati (MLB Pitchers, NFL players, etc.). He used to…

Took Wed, Thursday and Friday off last week to take my wife to Scottsdale for a couple of days and to go to Phoenix for a Keith Urban concert. Not a huge country fan, but Keith Urban does a great show. We had a blast there. Did 70 minutes of easy cardio yesterday. 20 minutes walking at 15% incline on the treadmill, then 20…

Been dreading this hour row this month that I have to do for my club, but set out to try it again today. It was very hot at lunch (close up to 95 at lunch), but went for it anyway. Got done. It was as miserable as I thought it might be -- finished at just over 13K meters, a 2:18.2 pace. Pretty slow but I finished it and…

@mtaratoot -- very glad you're OK. That could have been much, much worse! Tucson is kind of biker's capital of the world. We sadly have around one fatality every couple of weeks it seems. Motorcycles too, unfortunately. Old people (by far, the biggest demographic in Tucson) and bikes/motorcycles don't mix. Did an hour and…

Sole is always good from what I've heard. Sole always has had great equipment at a value price. Did he offer feedback on Sole?

Easy hour of cardio today. 30 on the LateralX and 30 on the AD Pro (Assault style bike). Legs were tired after last night, so it was all I could do just to do an hour around 65% of max HR. Seemed harder than it should have been.

@AnnPT77 - thanks for the kind words, but I'm (currently) only a moderate paced rower and, by far, the slowest heavyweight in my rowing club. Yes, it's likely true that not many men (or women, like you) workout as hard as I do at soon to be 58, but as you know, the rowing community is exceptionally fit, whether it's indoor…

@swimmom_1 I've seen my model on EBay for like $950 (as cheap as $350 for one I just saw in TX). Most of the time, it's one part that goes bad on the part where the foot pedals torque to the side. They used a cheap bearing inside. It's like a $10 part if a repairman knows what they are doing and around only an hour or so…

I enjoy mine and, yes, I own one. I'm not sure that I'd buy it again. It's like a Stepper/Elliptical and Lateral Trainer in one. You can set the pedals wider or narrower (for less lateral movement, closer to a standard elliptical). It's also harder than an Elliptical. To be honest, I don't even do ellipticals in gyms. Even…

@nossmf -- gotta do you, even if you fail! Nothing wrong with that. In reality, I'm a pretty mediocre indoor rower -- at best! But I love it and have a passion for it. @TicTacToo -- nice work! Don't get too caught in times. I did that early on too. Just work on form and staying safe. Times/paces will come if you do the…

Easy hour of cardio again today. Just 30 minutes on the LateralX and then 30 on the AD Pro (Assault Bike). Kept the HR above 60% max for the first 40 minutes or so and then mostly peddled and took it easier. Might do a harder row tomorrow, so wasn't going to push hard today.

My son was a very talented soccer player and wrestler in high school but did track for a few years. He is 5 foot 7. Imagine the look on my face when I went to his first track meet and he was running the 110 meter hurdles because they had no one else that was as fast and smooth as he was doing hurdles. Was funny to watch!…

@AnnPT77 -- sorry about your finger too! That sounds worse than mine currently! Mine just got the stage where it was snapping when I straightened it (and very painful). With taking the last two days off the rower, it's already feeling much better. I did 30 minutes on the LateralX today (mind numbingly boring to me but it…

Agree with above. The most important thing with any home gym is that you will use it. In my honest opinion, people make weight lifting too hard. It's not that hard and doesn't require all that much equipment, especially for beginners. If I were starting all over, knowing what I know now, I'd get a bench (doesn't have to be…

Did a solid interval workout on the Assault Bike. 12 X 90 second sprints/60 seconds recovery and then a C/D on the LateralX. Finally hit over 90% of max HR on last interval. It's hard to hit 90% on such short sprints. Much easier on 4 plus minute intervals. Was mostly able to get away without aggravating my sore finger by…

Doing my lifting sets this AM and I've come to realize I might have to give up rowing for a while. I seem to have developed either "trigger finger" or arthritis so bad on my left middle finger (and, no, I haven't been flipping anyone off recently! :D ) that it's gotten to be super painful to straighten at times. Going to…

Did an hour of super easy cardio yesterday. Nothing hard. 20 on rower, 20 on LateralX and then 20 on the Assault Bike.

Was looking forward to an easy cardio day with the first half on the rower. Started out and something didn't feel quite right in my left arm/shoulder. I've always had some problems on that side because I had a misdiagnosed broken collarbone that never healed correctly from high school football. Likely due to the heavy…

Went to the gym last night. Enjoyed it for a nice change of pace. A few things I missed -- inner/outer leg machines, leg press, incline situp bench. And the benches (at least in the dumbbell section) were mostly open, so that was a pleasant surprise. Sore this AM, moreso in my shoulders and chest/arms. Did a lot of heavier…

Normally, I've been doing an easy cardio day on Thursday, but Golf season ended last week (which was Thursday night). Since I haven't been to the gym in like, well, forever, I thought I'd switch out my golf night for a gym night away from home -- I work from home so I'm always at home! The issue is, I keep my lifting and…

DOMS (delayed muscle soreness from exercise) is way worse when you first start. After 10 years of regular exercise, I hardly ever get DOMS any longer. Just go super slow and incremental. Sometimes super light cardio can help get rid of muscle soreness. Also, nothing wrong with taking a day or two off if needed. Work on…

Getting better at discipline for the steady state days. I tried to set a hardline today at 135 HR (70% max) and just barely broke over it once. Did 30 minutes on the rower, then a bit over 25 on the LateralX. Felt like it should -- a recovery day.

I lost all of my weight, then slowly added muscle. Not sure it that helped or not to do it that way, just the way it happened. I was around 260 at my biggest and then 170 after losing the weight. I'm around 200 right now (I'm 5 foot 10 inches) -- the 200 right now looks a LOT different than it did on the way down. I could…

Supersets this AM. Snapped my 140 lb resistance band in two. That's why I never, ever use bands with metal on them -- those are super dangerous. Ordered another one. Finished without being able to do too many deadlifts, so just replaced with heavy squats and heavy (70 lb) KB swings. Was hot today at lunch and it's my hard…

I've heard about Coke for a long time among ultra-endurance athletes (of which I definitely am not one!). I know Harvey Lewis has mentioned it a lot.

The sequence of rowing is not very easy to master. Legs, body, hands (on the drive) and then hands (quickly returning), body and legs on the return. One trick that's kind of will tell you really quickly if you're getting it is rowing unstrapped. You have to be very careful with doing that. Perhaps with your feet loose in…

Just around an hour of cardio -- 30 minutes on the rower, then 30 minutes on the Stepper/Elliptical (LateralX) on the highest settings. All at 140 HR or below (75% max).