The Exercise & Fitness Thread: The Struggle Is Real

[soag]

Today's run was a struggle. Even though it was only a 36 minute run compared to yesterdays 60 minutes. 

I think I was still a bit tired from yesterday. But I still managed to clock up 6.62km in those 36 minutes. So I call that a win :). 

[nightwolf]

I'm just going round and spamming all the threads, but whatever, you guys wanted me back. .

Quick reminder, that my weight loss does not determine your size or shape. I lost weight because I was very unwell and had just had open surgery (with a 7 inch scar to prove it) and needed to bring my weight down to ensure it was safer to have another open operation later down the line.

I'm now 4 stone 2 down at my lowest. Here's me: 

Down from 15 stone 2 (96kg). To 11 stone (70kg). A size 20, to a size 8/14. 

I do think about going down to 65kg (10 stone) to build up some muscle, but it will entirely depend on how I feel going further, but this is over the course of the last couple of years, so we're going for slow and steady! 

[Will]

I read that as you weighed 4 stone 2 and thought your scales must be a bit messed up.

That’s really awesome progress though. Well done. Is everything OK following the surgery?

[nightwolf]

6 minutes ago, will' said:

I read that as you weighed 4 stone 2 and thought your scales must be a bit messed up.

That’s really awesome progress though. Well done. Is everything OK following the surgery?

Following me round the threads! 

Everything did go ok with surgery, thank you! I will be brutally honest, I nearly died at my own hand and nearly died on the operating table though. My surgeon and consultant at the time quite delicately mentioned weight loss would be a good idea. I had already wanted too and knew why they had mentioned it. So here we are! Best decision.

It hopefully means one less complication on my next surgery, which my current consultant is happy about, so fingers crossed! 

Edited July 13, 2020 by nightwolf

[Will]

Your very own personal forum stalker!

Glad to hear everything is going well. Must be a big relief to know some of the risk is gone for future rounds.

[Fierce_LiNk]

21 hours ago, will' said:

I read that as you weighed 4 stone 2 and thought your scales must be a bit messed up.

I read that too and had to look again at the photos. Really screwed my brain up, that one!

[bob]

1 hour ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I read that too and had to look again at the photos. Really screwed my brain up, that one!

No, it's true. She's just incredibly thin from the front, which is why she always stands side-on to the camera. When she turns face-on she disappears.

[Happenstance]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lumoshelmet/lumos-ultra-the-new-standard-in-bike-helmets

 

Just backed this Lumos Ultra helmet. I only have a cheapy helmet at the moment for my bike so decided I wouldn't mind something a bit fancier with lights on for when it starts getting a bit darker and I need to ride at night. That and I'm just a sucker for new tech.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I've dropped the standing overhead press/military press from my routine and have replaced with the seated version and am enjoying it a loooooooooot more. Also making good progress with it, whereas I stalled with the standing variant. I'm in awe of these guys who can overhead press huge numbers because it is honestly a massive stumbling block for me. Can never quite get it to feel hugely natural and I'm not getting the rewards out of it (better developed/stronger shoulders). I may go back to it in the future, but right now I don't miss it too much.

[Sméagol]

Cycled roughly 90 KM today, if the website I'm using to reconstruct my route is correct (don't have a cycling computer, or whatever you call it in English). I was in the mood for a cycling trip, and I need more execice anyway. MAYBE I should have gradually increased the distance, but I'm an idiot. Anyway, Saw lots of new things, so I'm happy. Next time I should bring my camera.

Edited July 18, 2020 by Sméagol

[soag]

Yesterdays day run was 70 minutes of non stop running.

Only covered 10.86km though which I was disappointed in.

But I was more focused on pace rather than speed. 

[Beast]

Ugh! I have fell off of the wagon. I need to get back on it and give my head a bit of a wobble. The Wii workouts are going great but it's more my eating than anything. I really do need to knuckle down and get it done right again.

[nightwolf]

1 hour ago, Beast said:

Ugh! I have fell off of the wagon. I need to get back on it and give my head a bit of a wobble. The Wii workouts are going great but it's more my eating than anything. I really do need to knuckle down and get it done right again.

You know this already, but this is for life, so you're allowed to have a wobble! 

On a side note, if you told me I'd walk 4+ miles a day every day, I'd have told you to get your head checked. Yet here we are. I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym though, it feels like I've walked every path in this small town several times over now. 

[Mr_Odwin]

In 2018 I started having knee pain, and after going down the physio/GP/x-ray route it turned out I'd worn away a lot of cartilage in my knees (essentially osteoarthritis) so running is gone forever. I was super sad at the time. For a good few years I was hammering out 20-40 miles per week, so it's partly my own fault. Mileage coupled with a lot of hilly road running wrecked my knees.

So then I started going to the gym at work instead of just using it as a changing room for outdoor running, and I've made okay progress for a noob. I've been using Stronglifts 5x5, but without the squats (knees can't handle them), and it was going well, and I've been doing some HIIT stuff cross trainer. So running was off the table but I had a decent gym routine.

Since lockdown I've not been able to go to the gym, so any small progress I was making with weights is gone. I tried making some home weights but it was not great, as I had to rope my kids/wife into helping me. AND OH MY GOODNESS, how expensive are weights at the moment? I don't wanna pay £300 for a bar and a handful of weights. It's nuts.

So I've upped my cycling, and I try to do at least 5 miles each lunchtime, and then 10+ on a Saturday morning.

Still, the corona curves are creeping in.

[Raining_again]

45 minutes ago, Mr_Odwin said:

In 2018 I started having knee pain, and after going down the physio/GP/x-ray route it turned out I'd worn away a lot of cartilage in my knees (essentially osteoarthritis) so running is gone forever. I was super sad at the time. For a good few years I was hammering out 20-40 miles per week, so it's partly my own fault. Mileage coupled with a lot of hilly road running wrecked my knees.

So then I started going to the gym at work instead of just using it as a changing room for outdoor running, and I've made okay progress for a noob. I've been using Stronglifts 5x5, but without the squats (knees can't handle them), and it was going well, and I've been doing some HIIT stuff cross trainer. So running was off the table but I had a decent gym routine.

Since lockdown I've not been able to go to the gym, so any small progress I was making with weights is gone. I tried making some home weights but it was not great, as I had to rope my kids/wife into helping me. AND OH MY GOODNESS, how expensive are weights at the moment? I don't wanna pay £300 for a bar and a handful of weights. It's nuts.

So I've upped my cycling, and I try to do at least 5 miles each lunchtime, and then 10+ on a Saturday morning.

Still, the corona curves are creeping in.

If you're going to spend that kind of money you'd be better buying proper olympic bars and weights.  A kettlebell would be a good investment as well (KB swings really don't impact your knees if you are doing them right) and is a real space saver. 

My mum used to run 10 miles a day when I was growing up and she absolutely trashed her knees, she has steroid injections every now and then and does a lot of pilates which helps.

-

My fitness routine is non existent. I'm doing very strict intermittent fasting, basically what the magazines have coined 5:2, but instead of 2 days i do 3 days fasting.

Caught up with a friend i hadn't spoke to in ages who was as deep as i was in the weightlifting deal, he was telling me all his awesome achievements and while i was feeling happy for him I still desperately miss being so heavily active and strong =(

[bob]

I remember reading a book about running a while back, which suggested that modern trainers (shoes) help protect our feet when running at the expense of our knees and other joints. Basically when running barefoot, you take much shorter, gentler strides to protect your feet, and therefore protect your knees and hips too. With the rise of over-padded shoes, it means we can take huge long strides and slap our feet down, but it puts more shock into our knees.

I don't run, so i didn't really take any notice of it at the time, but is this the problem? Do all runners eventually suffer with knee problems, or is it just people with weak knees to begin with?

[Mr_Odwin]

When I was running I would always wave away worries about knees by thinking about olympic runners, and how many of them are still running in their old age. I don't think everyone that runs will end up with bad knees (of course it's never as simple as that) but it will be a contributing factor.

Just for runners you'd have to take into account all of this: shoes, road vs off road, hilly vs flat, weekly mileage, average pace (higher pace is more impactful), weight, and the way that you run (heel strike vs midfoot vs forefoot), and so on.

Oh, and it happened in one run too with no prior warning - I went out for a run feeling 100% and halfway through it started to feel like bones in my knee were grinding on each other. Turns out they were!

[Will]

Yeah I would think it’s a mix of things. Amount of running, type of running, recovery, diet, health care etc. As with anything you have to aim to get the balance right.

15 minutes ago, Mr_Odwin said:

Oh, and it happened in one run too with no prior warning - I went out for a run feeling 100% and halfway through it started to feel like bones in my knee were grinding on each other. Turns out they were!

This sounds like a nightmare, I’d totally hate to have that happen. But I guess it kind of makes sense, either your bones are rubbing against each other or they’re not, and I suppose that last little bit of protection is there one minute and then gone. Still, I REALLY hope that doesn’t happen to me.

For my training I’m doing well. I’ve been jogging every other day and working on body strength in-between. I’m not within 200km of my 1,000km target for the year which I’m pretty happy about.

[MindFreak]

Barefoot running (or natural running) has more impact on the ancle but less on the knees and hips. What @bob says is true, though, just like injuries from boxing got worse when they introduced the padded gloves. Without gloves, you can't hit as hard without injuring yourself. It's crazy how many people just tie some shoes and go for a run without any proper guidance and thus, you see all sorts of running styles and some of those will definitely hurt them in the end. I received some guidance when I was younger and try to remember that - I aim for a midfoot landing as heel landing is too slow for me (and made my knees hurt) and forefoot is only for sprinting.

[Mr_Odwin]

3 hours ago, MindFreak said:

Barefoot running (or natural running) has more impact on the ancle but less on the knees and hips. What @bob says is true, though, just like injuries from boxing got worse when they introduced the padded gloves. Without gloves, you can't hit as hard without injuring yourself. It's crazy how many people just tie some shoes and go for a run without any proper guidance and thus, you see all sorts of running styles and some of those will definitely hurt them in the end. I received some guidance when I was younger and try to remember that - I aim for a midfoot landing as heel landing is too slow for me (and made my knees hurt) and forefoot is only for sprinting.

I kinda knew something was wrong with my gait, as the wear on my trainers was quite different, with a lot more wear on my right sole. And now it's my right knee that I've got issues with. I just ploughed on though, ignoring it.

[drahkon]

Took a two week break from running. Did an 11.5 km run yesterday and my knees hurt again

After the exam on Monday I will arrange a doctor's appointment and get it checked.

[Fierce_LiNk]

4 hours ago, MindFreak said:

Barefoot running (or natural running) has more impact on the ancle but less on the knees and hips. What @bob says is true, though, just like injuries from boxing got worse when they introduced the padded gloves. Without gloves, you can't hit as hard without injuring yourself. It's crazy how many people just tie some shoes and go for a run without any proper guidance and thus, you see all sorts of running styles and some of those will definitely hurt them in the end. I received some guidance when I was younger and try to remember that - I aim for a midfoot landing as heel landing is too slow for me (and made my knees hurt) and forefoot is only for sprinting.

I knew somebody who used to go barefoot running on the beach, as apparently that is better for the knees due to the softer impact? Any truth in that?

I know very little about running. When I lived closer to the beach, I would sometimes go for an evening running by the seafront, which was quite nice actually. Only problem is that my shins used to ache, which I think is referred to as shin splints. It never felt truly comfortable to me. The paradox is that when I'm playing a sport like football or squash, I can keep going with that and have no problems at all. Maybe I'm just better at the sudden bursts rather than the continuous motions? 

I've noticed that loooooooads of people have started doing park runs and 5/10Ks over the last year or so. Seemingly everyone who I'm speaking to these days is into that. Very few seem to be interested with lifting weights or gym memberships. I guess the plus side of running is that it's free and you need very little to do it, apart from good knees in @Mr_Odwin's case. 

[MindFreak]

6 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I knew somebody who used to go barefoot running on the beach, as apparently that is better for the knees due to the softer impact? Any truth in that?

Running on softer materials is better wrt. impact, yes. Naturally. However, it's also much harder on the muscles. 

If you have periostitis or shin-splints it's also better to run in the water (just about ankle deep) for the same reason.

[Mr_Odwin]

11 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

I knew somebody who used to go barefoot running on the beach, as apparently that is better for the knees due to the softer impact? Any truth in that?

I know very little about running. When I lived closer to the beach, I would sometimes go for an evening running by the seafront, which was quite nice actually. Only problem is that my shins used to ache, which I think is referred to as shin splints. It never felt truly comfortable to me. The paradox is that when I'm playing a sport like football or squash, I can keep going with that and have no problems at all. Maybe I'm just better at the sudden bursts rather than the continuous motions? 

I've noticed that loooooooads of people have started doing park runs and 5/10Ks over the last year or so. Seemingly everyone who I'm speaking to these days is into that. Very few seem to be interested with lifting weights or gym memberships. I guess the plus side of running is that it's free and you need very little to do it, apart from good knees in @Mr_Odwin's case. 

Running was great in that sense. Wherever I went I'd just pack my shoes, shorts, shirt, socks and my GPS watch. I ran wherever we were.

But it's not entirely free because I'd burn through trainers every 5-6 months or so, and I liked Nike Air Pegasus, which got more and more pricey over the years. And then you buy special running socks because you got a blister on one run. And the phone GPS tracking just doesn't cut it anymore, so you buy a garmin. And then you buy special sweat wicking shirts, or a jacket for running in the rain. And then you buy offroad shoes. And one time your hands got cold so you buy running gloves.

[drahkon]

Just now, Mr_Odwin said:

my GPS watch

Speaking of, I'm looking for a cheap one. Anybody here got some recommendations?