Our Physical Fitness

darjr said:

I wouldn’t do most of them ever again. They did have a purpose and absolutely helped me lose weight, well at first anyway. And at the time that weight loss was my singular goal, damn the consequences. Went from 340 to 240 in just a few months on keto/fasting. But, I also did a lot of damage. Lost so much str in my legs I had to go to physical therapy. My squat was less than my bench for a long time.

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Last year I went on a liquid diet for a month (for other reasons other than losing weight), but I did lose 20 lbs that month. So...super effective lol? But it make me cranky. Alas, I've since gained most of it back.

darjr said:

I used to hide all this, but not anymore. I kinda have to chatter about it, sorry.

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Never apologize for that. I spend most of my life suffering from body image issues (when I graduated high school, I was 6'3" and weighed 153lbs). A lot of people seem to think it's OK to make fun of really skinny people, but it's just as hurtful and harmful, and it took several years to work past all of those issues. I'd hide my body as much as I could whenever I'd go anywhere, and felt like I wasn't "manly" enough.

BookTenTiger said:

I'm also doing back stretches every day to help alleviate back pain (exacerbated by lifting and bending over the baby).

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As someone almost 50, this is the key. Stretching every day for at least 15 minutes has almost eliminated my lower back pain. Us post-40-year-olds need to work harder and do a lot more stretching to keep some of those aches and pains at bay lol. 45 is when it hit all at once. Since then, I've had:

• torn labrum in left shoulder
• impingements in both shoulders
• degenerative knee disorder; most of my cartilage is gone
• bursitis in left Achilles
• gout
• minor groin hernia

Getting older sucks, yo!

I mentioned this above, but I lost 20lbs on my liquid diet. Here is a photo from that time (it was a photo about shaving my beard and not about showing my body, but it's the only one I have that shows my body). I was 190lbs at that point, and am 207 now. Some of that weight is a bit more muscle, but some is also dad bod . I would like to get back down to 190 and have picked up my workout regime for that reason. As someone who grew up with body issues most of my life, I think I'm doing pretty good for someone nearly half a century old. It doesn't matter what others think of our bodies, it's how we feel about it, and if you're happy, it doesn't matter how much you weigh.

Squat day!
Warmup, then 225x2 315x2 365x3x3 315x5 315x3

Dumbbell bench 100lbs ea h hand 4x8.

Then a bunch of accessories and fun stuff. Cooldown was a walk.

I’ve been struggling with squat for a while. Getting there.

darjr said:

Squat day!
Warmup, then 225x2 315x2 365x3x3 315x5 315x3

Dumbbell bench 100lbs ea h hand 4x8.

Then a bunch of accessories and fun stuff. Cooldown was a walk.

I’ve been struggling with squat for a while. Getting there.

View attachment 153409

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I'm old. 134 heart rate is my peak

Sacrosanct said:

I'm old. 134 heart rate is my peak

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I have to “meditate” between sets sometimes to get it to come down. Otherwise I’d be there all night.

Yesterday. Bench! 225x2x12 265x5 295x4x3 225x2x8. Maybe 60+ push-ups paused at the floor, hands lifted (what are those called?). Then leg press, full stack (400?) 4x15. Then a bunch of accessories.

While I have been cutting the last year I have been mostly focused on much more body building style programming. Here's the last two workouts I have done. I am just starting this training cycle so volume is pretty low.

Chest Day (3/16/2022)

• Bench Press (Dumbbell)
  • 180 lb. x 10
  • 200 lb. x 8
  • 200 lb. x 6
• Incline Bench Press (Dumbbell)
  • 130 lb. x 10
  • 140 lb. x 8
  • 140 lb. x 6
• Incline Chest Fly
  • 100 lbs. x 10
  • 110 lbs. x 10

Back Day (3/17/2022)

• Bent Over One Arm Row (Dumbbell)
  • 100 lb. x 15
  • 100 lb. x 15
• Lat Pulldown (Wide Underhand Grip)
  • 205 lb. x 10
  • 220 lb. x 10
• Seated Row
  • 250 lbs. x 10
  • 265 lbs. x 10
• Preacher Curls (Barbell)
  • 95 lbs. x 10
  • 115 lbs. x 6

Cut has been going great so far. I am down 90 lbs. in the last 13 months (from 375 to 285). I still have about 40-50 lbs. I would like to lose. Here's a recent gym picture.

When it comes to barbells versus dumbbells I think a lot comes to individual anatomy and leverages. I tend do a lot more of my chest work with dumbbells because my barbell bench tends to hit my triceps a lot more than my chest (my triceps and shoulders are more developed than my chest). Same thing for most machines. I get a really good loaded stretch from dumbbells which seems to blow up my chest.

I also train by myself so I can get closer to failure with dumbbells even if I usually have to do higher reps.

Dude, congratulations!

Row warmup 1000m. Then 1000m, 800m, 600m, 400m and finish with. 400m sprint at 1:56 pace. It was supposed to be 200 but wth. Split by burpees 3,5,7,9,11. I think I hate burpees.

I’m having a bit of trouble burning enough calories.

Been in a long slow cut. Here’s that story so far, in belt holes. I need a new belt.