wolfgate Member

You need the squat rack for squats only. That is a must if you are going to do 5x5. No other safe way to do those and get bar onto your shoulder. Every gym I have ever seen has a bench designed for bench press as well, so those would be done there. Overhead press can be started from the floor and lifted (cleaned) to your…

Garmin 2xx watches fit what you are indicating. Company has great products and unparalleled customer support. I have a 220. Highly recommend them.

Swim, cycle, lift weights

Do you want a recommendation for you? Go to a specialty running store where they can evaluate your foot and gait and help you find the right shoe. Do you want to know what shoe was best for others, knowing that means nothing when it comes to what a good shoe will be for you? For me, that is Brooks Adrenaline for training.…

http://www.hillrunner.com/jim2/id195.html This article helped me when I was dealing with it many years ago. I allowed the acute inflammation to go away, fixed my root cause, and immediately went from having it act up within a couple of miles to being able to run more than 10k without any pain. I've only had one single…

Thanks all. RobotFood - My deficit isn't big because I'm in maintenance mode really right now. And my insatiable hunger only lasted about 20 minutes but was intense. Clearly my body was telling me something was missing. The tunnel vision thing is something I realized precedes this hunger when it has happened. May have been…

Given you have done several half running, I would suggest the Higdon plan. You likely have the base built up to do that one and I suspect you'll find running the whole way more satisfying given your history. It will prepare you just fine and isn't too hard during training.

Call the YMCA and ask to speak with the aquatics director or swim team coach or whoever handles their swimming program. They will welcome you and help you decide what the best path is given their program and instructors and how they have things set up. Don't be afraid or intimidated - they will love to help you find the…

Yes, maximum heart rate is very individual and related to how fast your specific heart can beat - not how fast you should let it beat. The formulas are only moderately helpful if someone is setting initial target zones for exercise. If you want to know your individual max heart rate, they are of no use. If someone wants to…

You're making one heck of a speculative leap from knee pain to double surgery and never being well again. Go see the doctor. You still decide what treatment you want to take but someone with much education will be helping you understand the possibilities. Be smart, not scared. Having said that, I had partial meniscectomy…

All of scottb81's advice is spot on. My personal preference for estimating my max HR is this one here. Mainly because I can't make myself actually do one of the tests, but I can push at the end of a 5k no problem.

Do you have a local running specialty store? Not a big box like Dick's but a true running store? Go there. They are trained to help you find the right shoe for your body. You are different from the people you spoke to. You need to find out if your gait is neutral, overpronates, supinates. Different types of shoes for…

Pretty much as he says. You're new to running so you'll continue to get faster for quite a while just by building more of a mileage base. Speedwork not needed for a while to get faster. Keep running as you have with smart, conservative weekly miles increases, and drop back a bit in the days before the race.

Swimming - though my first choice would be true strength training. However, swimming will complement your running while giving you some upper body strengthening as well.

...freaking double post...

At this point you want to get to the starting line healthy. That last 20 miler will help you with fitness some, but you've done 2 already. If the ankle is bugging you on race day, that could slow you down much more than the little you'll not gain from the last 20 miler. Personally, I'd rest the heck out of it this week…

Were you doing the pull down in front of the neck or behind? I've never heard concern before about mechanical issues in front - but have lots behind. Personally, I struggle with pulling exercises. My forearms have developed a tendancy to get teondonitis - sometimes I can't even tell what caused it. At 52 years old, I'm not…

This. I've had to come back from a couple of significant downtimes over the years. I firmly believe the right path is to rebuild endurance first, and then add back in any speed training. The truth is most of the lost speed came back just from rebuilding endurance. It was that last 30-45 seconds of the 5k time that took…

What the last 2 said. From what you've said, the HRM was almost certainly not reading correctly. How is it measuring? Were you using a chest strap? Was it the "grab the handles" kind of thing. If you were truly approaching your max heart rate, you would not physically be able to keep it up long at all. Total oxygen debt…

Garmin GPS watch. Allows me to run wherever I am (lots of business travel) and keep track of distance, etc.

Recovery is required. Rest is relative. For example, someone just starting to run should plan on days off. Many beginning running programs are 3 days a week for that reason. People who have been running for years may run 7 days a week, but still have easy recovery days. Shorter distances at a relaxed pace give the rest and…

Got one about a year ago. Same deal - it could stand or sit. Over a rather short period of time I got to where I stand almost exclusively. I only sit if I'm going to be on a conference call where I expect I'll want to bang my head on the desk at the stupidity on the other end of the phone. It's safer to do from a sitting…

You're overthinking. You are doing the right thing to change up the ST exercises every month or so. No reason not to make the change you're considering. Your goal as a beginner is exercise and gaining strength - not entering a bodybuilding competition. The two exercises work both back and arms slightly differently, which…

Personally, of the multitude of new running shoes I have bought, I have not had to break any of them in since the 1980s.

Gym Hero user here.

For easy and long runs I do have a slight heel strike, but very close below my center of gravity at contact. If I didn't know otherwise I would tell you it's a midfoot landing, but I do know better (and have the pictures to prove it). I run in traditional shoes, and the heel to toe drop is likely the reason it feels…

Where are you running? Treadmill, indoor track, outdoor track, roads, trails?

How would you determine that definitive speed because people are so different? An elite marathoner (2:15 or so) would run his recovery runs at around a 6:30 per mile pace and his easy runs at around a 6:00 pace. That's just light conversational trot to him, but it would go sub-20 in a 5k. Would anyone say a typical sub 20…

Which is consistent with my point. :-) The word, of course, has been used for centuries but not consistently with running until Bill Bowerman's book "jogging" published about 50 years ago. So a common word with an unclear meaning.