What was Your Workout Today?

[TrvlBug]

After several months of on and off shoulder pain, not caused by a specific injury, I finally went to the sports med dr. after severe shoulder pain after deadheading my roses. Diagnosis was shoulder impingement…had cortisone shot and after no exercises for 5 days, am now doing 3 shoulder cuff exercises 3x/day…using band, internal and external rotation and using weights, supraspinatus.

Dr. says I can start weights (will start today) as well as my TRX classes (will start in July), but to take it easy and work into it. He's very aggressive in his rehab techniques which I found out when he did my knee surgery about 7-8 years ago.

[W2R]

I am still lifting weights every MWF, although I only lifted a total of 15.3 tons yesterday as opposed to my all time high of 20.5 tons on June 2nd. Still, it felt just right. For some reason, the arm curl machine was giving me trouble although it never does. So, I lowered the weight to about half. Must be something going on there. I'll see how that goes on Friday.

I skipped my Monday workout due to a routine doctor appointment that afternoon. My doctor was absolutely thrilled with my lab work and blood pressure, all of which seem to be normal or better than normal right now, with medications. I think my workouts were responsible. My doctor said "You are very healthy!", but being a gentleman he did not add the understood, "for your age".

[keegs]

I thought.... an interesting article in today's paper about the benefits of putting the pedal to the metal with your workouts. I think mixing it up, that's to say, changing your exercise routine might provide similar results.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...ide-nyt-region

[Leonidas]

I think this excerpt is spot on:

Quote:

Once a routine is familiar, your sympathetic nervous system grows blasé, he said, holds back adrenaline and doesn’t alert the CRTC2 proteins, and few additional adaptations occur. The good news is that “intensity is a completely relative concept,” Dr. Conkright said. If you are out of shape, an intense workout could be a brisk walk around the block.

When I look around the gym at all the wrong stuff going on, lack of intensity and doing the same routine daily are the two that are very disheartening. At least the people trashing their joints with improper exercise are usually doing it with insane intensity.

One of the first things I learned when I got serious about this is that we don't work-out or exercise, we are training. We do exercises as part of the training, and those exercises are grouped together in workouts that are planned to have an effect, and those workouts are part of a program that has cycles. We are training our bodies to be able to respond when we want them to. Exercise without a plan is just movement that may or may not accomplish something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by keegs I thought.... an interesting article in today's paper about the benefits of putting the pedal to the metal with your workouts. I think mixing it up, that's to say, changing your exercise routine might provide similar results. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/0...ide-nyt-region

[W2R]

And, along those lines, in the interest of mixing it up, I spent my whole workout yesterday riding the seated elliptical.

To cope with the tedium,

(1) I played with the intensity settings from time to time,
(2) I listened to the TV using my headphones (boring!), and
(3) I even tried holding onto the arm thingies, but that almost seemed like cheating because then I wasn't using my legs as much.

I'm not sure why weight lifting never seems this tedious. When I lift weights I just focus on my breathing and form, count my reps, and almost immediately zone out. Can't seem to find that with cardio (yet).

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R I'm not sure why weight lifting never seems this tedious. When I lift weights I just focus on my breathing and form, count my reps, and almost immediately zone out. Can't seem to find that with cardio (yet).

Spoken like a true weight lifter; I totally agree

[keegs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R And, along those lines, in the interest of mixing it up, I spent my whole workout yesterday riding the seated elliptical. To cope with the tedium, (1) I played with the intensity settings from time to time, (2) I listened to the TV using my headphones (boring!), and (3) I even tried holding onto the arm thingies, but that almost seemed like cheating because then I wasn't using my legs as much. I'm not sure why weight lifting never seems this tedious. When I lift weights I just focus on my breathing and form, count my reps, and almost immediately zone out. Can't seem to find that with cardio (yet).

I hear you about boring.. best remedy I find for that is to have someone to talk to or maybe some really good tunes. I usually spend a lot more time on the treadmill or stair master than any one weight lifting activity and it can get boring.

I find it's more of an effort to mix up the routine. There's a known amount of pain and effort with repeating the same exercises I guess and mixing it up interrupts that predictability. I think keeping your body guessing so to speak really produces better results.

Along the same lines, working with the half ball adds the extra effort of staying balanced.

[Derslickmeister]

3 months removed from rotator cuff surgery, I installed two new ceiling fans today

[antmary]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 Ant Mary and others may find this article interesting regarding shoulder issues: The Shoulder Part 1: Impingement Syndrome

Thanks for this, DFW!

[antmary]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derslickmeister 3 months removed from rotator cuff surgery, I installed two new ceiling fans today

That's great news Derskickmeister...it gives me hope that a rotator cuff remedy is just around the corner.

[Leonidas]

I'm chilling out for the holiday, so my workouts are mostly anabolic at the moment. Took my new hiking shoes and the 22-year-old and we went hiking and exploring on some nearby trails.

[Derslickmeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antmary That's great news Derskickmeister...it gives me hope that a rotator cuff remedy is just around the corner.

Yep, as others have said and as I can confirm the PT after the surgery is crucial. In my case it has been 3 times/week, tapering to once per week starting next week.

[eytonxav]

Recently set a goal for myself to cut some fat (e.g. while I don't particularly like to put cutting in terms of pounds, I think this will translate to losing about 25 lbs) by end of August. I figure without establishing a goal, I'll probably go no where. I've dropped about 4-5 lbs in a few weeks, that included one week of travel eating restaurant food. I am a bit concerned of losing muscle and strength in the process, but was pleased to see I can still dead lift 315 lbs despite not lifting that weight for quite some time. Also, maybe I am crazy, but I believe I see a difference in the mirror which should be the better indicator of success.

[BBQ-Nut]

3 mile hike in the open preserve behind my house - lots of trails, good thing there is shade along the creek - it is HOT today, but a good sweat was worth it.

Now, for something cold

[eytonxav]

5+ mile walk this morning; took 1hr 40 minutes which is not too fast, but the route was hilly.

Typically my cardio is only 5 minutes of walking on the treadmill. Feel good now, however, leg day in gym tomorrow may be a little more challenging. I'm going to incorporate more of these longer walks which should help in cutting some fat.

Encountered quite a few joggers, walkers, dog walkers, mothers jogging with strollers, and cyclists. I say good morning and wave to everyone, but for the most part, I would say the 40 somethings and under generally don't acknowledge back.

[W2R]

DFW_M5, a 5+ mile walk over hilly terrain is phenomenal at any pace when you are not used to doing much cardio (me either, that's how I know! ). What a great workout.

I worked on my cardio yesterday, too, on the elliptical and on the seated elliptical.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R DFW_M5, a 5+ mile walk over hilly terrain is phenomenal at any pace when you are not used to doing much cardio (me either, that's how I know! ). What a great workout. I worked on my cardio yesterday, too, on the elliptical and on the seated elliptical.

Thanks, I doubt I will ever get back into running again, but being outside taking in the scenery and the fresh air felt good.

[Leonidas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 5+ mile walk this morning; took 1hr 40 minutes which is not too fast, but the route was hilly.

That does seem like pretty intense for almost two hours. My goals are similar, lose body fat and maintain/grow lean body mass, and the program my trainers and nutritionist have me is working well. The cardio comes in two styles, low-intensity and steady state(LISS); or, short and of very high intensity(intervals). Up until this week I was walking 3 hilly miles in right at an hour(LISS), now I'm doing 15 minutes of intervals with a 10 minute warm up and cool down.

Everyone that I train with is of the opinion that higher intensity cardio over a longer period of time results in loss of lean body mass. They say you might lose fat, but you're also going to some of the muscle you worked hard to build.

[eytonxav]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leonidas Everyone that I train with is of the opinion that higher intensity cardio over a longer period of time results in loss of lean body mass. They say you might lose fat, but you're also going to some of the muscle you worked hard to build.

The trainers from my gym would agree. I may try to mix in some sprint intervals which should also help with building/maintaining muscle. Thats about the only type of running I can still do. I get to do that currently playing softball 2x/week, but doing it on the track would probably be better. Thinking run 100M, walk for 1/8 m and repeat for 8-10 times.

For me the gym part has been the easy part, while proper nutrition has been elusive

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DFW_M5 For me the gym part has been the easy part, while proper nutrition has been elusive

+1000 Working out is fun and easy in comparison.

I have been struggling with considerable obesity for a long, long time. I am working hard on eating less and eating healthier foods but this is the hardest battle I have ever fought. I will keep at it, though this is a lifetime battle. I want a long, happy life.

Meanwhile, as I work on this, I decided it wouldn't do any harm to change some of my present fat to muscle. I was thinking this could improve my routine lab test results, and it seems to be doing that.

More muscle also makes it lots easier for me to do things around the house on my own and to be more independent as I grow older. I don't want to be one of those feeble old people; I'd rather be strong as long as that is an option.