More Time To Get Fit - 2025

[Mike95060]

I think I have one more season in me before I take a break from structured training. I'll probably be in Mammoth for a race in Sept. Then Jan-May will be stacked. I'll reassess after that.

Oh. I started creatine monohydrate yesterday. The literature mostly says "possible gains with very unlikely downsides", mostly in the TimeToExhaustion area. And the coach said "Ya you should definitely try it". No loading for me, just 5g per day.

That’s exactly what I was doing for a while. Mostly for the mental health impact. (The literature on that is fuzzy but it could be a thing.) I didn’t have any downsides I noticed and peak output for a short duration might have improved a bit. If you’re hitting the weights regularly I think it’s worth taking. It’s literally the only supplement I have ever used regularly.

 

[Holeshot]

Berto, training theory says that you can only do the same workout for 4-6 weeks before you see a drop-off of benefits from the workout.

The body adapts and if you don't change it up after a max of 6 weeks, then that adaptation starts eating into your potential gains.

I'd say your best bet is to have 2-3 different workouts that you switch off on every 4-6 weeks.

Thanks B! I cycle through 5 workouts a week (really 4, I never get to the 5th), but I've been doing this routine far too long. I'm gonna switch it up in the next few weeks thanks to your urging. One of my problems with traditional resistance programs is the down (rest) time. I don't have enough time in the day, nor desire, to split the cardio and resistance parts. If I'm going to add anything more in free time, it's gonna be mobility exercises...so, I end up hybridizing stuff together and it seems to work ok. You'll always crush me in a WWF ring!

I started creatine monohydrate yesterday. The literature mostly says "possible gains with very unlikely downsides", mostly in the TimeToExhaustion area. And the coach said "Ya you should definitely try it". No loading for me, just 5g per day.

Creatine's amazing stuff. Even helps with cognition, which was a new one Iearned. But, as you probably know; it also seems to lead to arm pump. I don't know how this affects cycling...probably not as much as motorcycle riding as the leg muscles are large?

 

[Sharxfan]

I think I have one more season in me before I take a break from structured training. I'll probably be in Mammoth for a race in Sept. Then Jan-May will be stacked. I'll reassess after that.

Oh. I started creatine monohydrate yesterday. The literature mostly says "possible gains with very unlikely downsides", mostly in the TimeToExhaustion area. And the coach said "Ya you should definitely try it". No loading for me, just 5g per day.

Loading is only to get to the required level for it to work faster it just takes a bit longer if you just do 5g a day. I have tried a lot of supplements over the years and the only ones that really stay are creatine and protein. I take Whey protein in the morning with my oatmeal per docs instructions and then on days when I workout I take a casein based one at night before sleeping as its supposed to digest over 8 hours or so this way it helps with muscle build/recovery overnight.

 

[two wheel tramp]

My limp is still a big pain in my butt! My PT says it's tendonitis from overcompensating for weak muscles and only being at about 75% of my other leg's ROM. I've had pain every day since the accident, but it's not as bad when I walk anymore. I gotta use a foam roller as part of my PT for a while. I didn't meet my arbitrary goal of two continuous miles by the end of July. If I can get the stinkin' limp sorted, I can get there.

I also told him I need to be able to do the "FOB" squat again. I had to pee on the side of the road after the Weaverville rally and I almost went ass over tea kettle.

He sure has a neat job and knows a lot of great info.

 

[Climber]

My limp is still a big pain in my butt! My PT says it's tendonitis from overcompensating for weak muscles and only being at about 75% of my other leg's ROM. I've had pain every day since the accident, but it's not as bad when I walk anymore. I gotta use a foam roller as part of my PT for a while. I didn't meet my arbitrary goal of two continuous miles by the end of July. If I can get the stinkin' limp sorted, I can get there.

I also told him I need to be able to do the "FOB" squat again. I had to pee on the side of the road after the Weaverville rally and I almost went ass over tea kettle.

He sure has a neat job and knows a lot of great info.

TWT, are you utilizing epsom salt baths? Magnesium helps with soft tissue repair and you can't take a pill with it, you have to get it through your pores, thus the epsom salt bath. My athletes do a bath for hamstring injuries, it definitely helps.

Also, when rolling, roll towards the heart, not away. The purpose is to help push the debris around your damaged cells along the way they flow and to get fresh white blood cells to your damaged cells.

 

[two wheel tramp]

TWT, are you utilizing epsom salt baths? Magnesium helps with soft tissue repair and you can't take a pill with it, you have to get it through your pores, thus the epsom salt bath. My athletes do a bath for hamstring injuries, it definitely helps.

Also, when rolling, roll towards the heart, not away. The purpose is to help push the debris around your damaged cells along the way they flow and to get fresh white blood cells to your damaged cells.

Hi Brett, I haven't taken any Epsom salt baths but I have definitely done baths as part of the recovery process. Plus, I just like baths.

The PT mentioned to roll towards the heart and when I am doing lymph massage on my leg I always rub towards the heart as well.

 

[Sharxfan]

TWT, are you utilizing epsom salt baths? Magnesium helps with soft tissue repair and you can't take a pill with it, you have to get it through your pores, thus the epsom salt bath. My athletes do a bath for hamstring injuries, it definitely helps.

Also, when rolling, roll towards the heart, not away. The purpose is to help push the debris around your damaged cells along the way they flow and to get fresh white blood cells to your damaged cells.

Did not know this and it's good info. This kind of stuff is why I love the BARFs and its my daily read.

 

[Sharxfan]

So note to future self. Do not do arm day right before spending 10 hours mowing the yard. my forearms are killing me from gripping the zero turn levers for 10 hours between two days and couple that with forearm workouts on Friday and I am wiped today. I drank metric crap ton of electrolyte powder and water this weekend trying to stay hydrated. You would think I could get some water by osmosis with all the humidity down here in the swamps but no such luck it just makes the heat worse. Probably doesn't help that I have to cover up extremely due to some vitiligo I had from I believe some adverse reactions to things I was taking so its either SPF 1000 cream or I wear long sleeve shirts with head covering and gloves while I mow and seeing as I hate the greasy feeling of sun block and I would have to reapply it so many times cover up it is and it really impedes my ability to shed heat. I really should by stock in Gatorade or LMNT but I am trying to stay away from Prime as I don't want to facilitate the Paul brothers lifestyle. Anyone got any other suggestions of a readily available electrolyte drink that doesn't taste like ass?

So today is the start of the new diet and 4 day a week workouts. it will be a Mon-Tues-break-Thurs-Fri sets. Thinking Mon Chest + treadmill, Tues legs, weds Break, Thurs arms + treadmill, Fri back. Will probably try to do abs all week as I hear there is no downside to ding abs everyday. going to do some research on the best rep/sets for bulking and to get some new exercise ideas. wish me luck the one year transformation hopefully starts today.

 

[Holeshot]

Sharx: forearm pump may be from the Creatine. Also, I drink coconut water instead of electrolyte drinks as I've had good results and don't worry about any additives, etc. I love liquid IV (great flavors/ taste), but IMO the potassium intake is well discounted by many. That humidity is a fucking killer...try a sports ice vest, or something similar if you can. They're great at lowing core body temp. What kind of mower are you using? Can you use a riding unit? Is your unit powered, at least?

My limp is still a big pain in my butt! My PT says it's tendonitis from overcompensating for weak muscles and only being at about 75% of my other leg's ROM.

Ask him his opinion on BPC-157 injections. Worth a shot to ask.

 

[Sharxfan]

Sharx: forearm pump may be from the Creatine. Also, I drink coconut water instead of electrolyte drinks as I've had good results and don't worry about any additives, etc. I love liquid IV (great flavors/ taste), but IMO the potassium intake is well discounted by many. That humidity is a fucking killer...try a sports ice vest, or something similar if you can. They're great at lowing core body temp. What kind of mower are you using? Can you use a riding unit? Is your unit powered, at least?

Man I have a 60" Bad Boy Zero Turn with a 25HP engine. It's a beast but when I go too long without mowing the yard/jungle gets heavy. It had rained non-stop down here for the last two weeks with not enough breaks for the ground to dry up so I didn't get stuck but as it was when I went to do the island I hit a bad part and had to get the tractor to pull it out. I also mow about 5 acres give or take.

It wasn't pump just sore I believe. I really worked the forearms on Friday and it didn't help I used them a lot on the zero turn.

I tried Liquid IV but the flavors I got were so bad. I may try Pedialyte to see what happens. I also grab some good sounding stuff from the sports area at the store but turns out tablets all fizz to dissolve so it was a no go as I have soda water. That was a waste of some money.

 

[Mike95060]

Lemon lime is the mildest Liquid IV flavor IMHO. It helps if its ice cold. I usually hate artificial strawberry flavors but on Saturday I did a big road ride and was pretty cooked towards the end. Strawberry flavor tasted pretty good on the 7th hr Pedialyte was my post drinking recovery fluid when I used to go out. Never tried it as an exercise supplement. It probably works great.

 

[stangmx13]

All the main stream hydration products differ dramatically in their sodium content. Gatorade is the lowest and probably isn't suitable for anyone that is exercising and sweating. LMNT is one of the highest and may have too much sodium, maybe for people that need to watch their blood pressure (I haven't found any studies for how sodium during exercise affects BP). Everyone should experiment to see what works best for them. Looks like LiquidIV and Pedialyte are comparable, about half of LMNT and near double Gatorade.

I spent ~8hr on the bike this weekend, venturing into the heat for some of it. I put sunscreen under my jersey and still burned my shoulders a little. For Saturdays 4h30m ride, I almost struggled with the heat and kinda blame not enough sodium. I refilled a bottle with water during the ride, so that bottle didn't get any sodium - which caused my to undershoot my sodium target of 400mg/hr. It's a stupid mistake that I hadn't considered before. For Sunday's ride I double the sodium in each bottle to 800mg, managed ~1800mg for 3hrs, and felt a lot better in the heat.

Also, a slurpee after Saturday's ride was amazing. It was mostly gone after the 1mile ride from the 7-11 to my house. Turned out to be a great way to start my recovery.

 

[Mike95060]

Also, a slurpee after Saturday's ride was amazing. It was mostly gone after the 1mile ride from the 7-11 to my house. Turned out to be a great way to start my recovery.

The woman selling homemade popsicles at the top of Kings Mountain Road was a GODSEND!!

Also, find the bike hut! It’s amazing.

 

[Mike95060]

Also, hats off to the GOAT of distance freestyle

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View this content on Instagram

 

[two wheel tramp]

Sharx: forearm pump may be from the Creatine. Also, I drink coconut water instead of electrolyte drinks as I've had good results and don't worry about any additives, etc. I love liquid IV (great flavors/ taste), but IMO the potassium intake is well discounted by many. That humidity is a fucking killer...try a sports ice vest, or something similar if you can. They're great at lowing core body temp. What kind of mower are you using? Can you use a riding unit? Is your unit powered, at least?




Ask him his opinion on BPC-157 injections. Worth a shot to ask.

Was there a pun intended? I will ask him at our next session.

 

[stangmx13]

Ledecky is insane. GOAT at only 28yo. She has 54 medals in top competition.

 

[iraj]

I couldn't read all the posts on the thread, but was encouraged to see pedal bikes in the recent mix. I'm 80, and pedaling about 60 miles per week, in 2-hour outings, 75% up hill. That, a bit of weight training and some time on a Concept 2 rower, allows me to (mostly) keep my 550lb GS upright, plus eat all the crap and drink all the booze I want. No knee problems, and I get to practice looking through corners on the twisties. Can't recommend pedaling enough. The point is, you got to keep in shape doing SOMETHING.

 

[Sharxfan]

So day 1 of the 365 day transformation plan went alright. I like chest day and feel I got some good reps in. Also hit the treadmill and did my frog in a pot imitation and upped my jogging time a minute. Today my knees are kind of sore and am wondering if treadmill before leg day is a wise choice but not sure how else to break things up unless I push all cardio to the end of the week. maybe do leg day Monday, Tuesday Chest, break, Thursday back and treadmill and Friday arms/shoulders/treadmill but then back to back cardio may not be good either. sigh decisions decisions. Don't want to stop cardio as I don't want to lose what gains I have made although I feel that as the weight loss starts to kick in that the knees will be less of an issue than they are currently. Maybe time will tell and I just ride the wave now and see how it goes later.

 

[Mike95060]

I couldn't read all the posts on the thread, but was encouraged to see pedal bikes in the recent mix. I'm 80, and pedaling about 60 miles per week, in 2-hour outings, 75% up hill. That, a bit of weight training and some time on a Concept 2 rower, allows me to (mostly) keep my 550lb GS upright, plus eat all the crap and drink all the booze I want. No knee problems, and I get to practice looking through corners on the twisties. Can't recommend pedaling enough. The point is, you got to keep in shape doing SOMETHING.

BRAVO!!!! Welcome aboard iraj! You are crushing it with those numbers!!

This is the non competitive side of cycling I enjoy.

 

[two wheel tramp]

I couldn't read all the posts on the thread, but was encouraged to see pedal bikes in the recent mix. I'm 80, and pedaling about 60 miles per week, in 2-hour outings, 75% up hill. That, a bit of weight training and some time on a Concept 2 rower, allows me to (mostly) keep my 550lb GS upright, plus eat all the crap and drink all the booze I want. No knee problems, and I get to practice looking through corners on the twisties. Can't recommend pedaling enough. The point is, you got to keep in shape doing SOMETHING.

Honestly, it was folks like you, living an extraordinary life in their "esteemed" years, that encouraged me to get off my ass.

Welcome!

 

[stangmx13]

So day 1 of the 365 day transformation plan went alright. I like chest day and feel I got some good reps in. Also hit the treadmill and did my frog in a pot imitation and upped my jogging time a minute. Today my knees are kind of sore and am wondering if treadmill before leg day is a wise choice but not sure how else to break things up unless I push all cardio to the end of the week. maybe do leg day Monday, Tuesday Chest, break, Thursday back and treadmill and Friday arms/shoulders/treadmill but then back to back cardio may not be good either. sigh decisions decisions. Don't want to stop cardio as I don't want to lose what gains I have made although I feel that as the weight loss starts to kick in that the knees will be less of an issue than they are currently. Maybe time will tell and I just ride the wave now and see how it goes later.

Ya you really gotta pick where you are making gains and where you are maintaining. I suspect it's really difficult for anyone to make gains in many aspects at the same time. Id guess you have 3 "aspects" here: lower body/back, upper body, & cardio. Pick 1 for major gains, 1 for minor gains, and 1 for maintenance. Fuel and sleep well and see how you like the balance of gains and maintenance.

My weekly schedule (starting Monday) is Lift, Rest, Ride, Lift & Ride, Rest, Ride, Ride. My lifting is always Leg&Back day with a little upper body. I was making good gains on Legs&Back a few weeks ago. I always just maintained on upper body. So that was: legs&back major gains, riding minor gains, upper body maintenance. But now my riding has ramped up with more intensity. The plan is now: riding major gains, leg day minor gains, upper body maintenance.

 

[Holeshot]

So day 1 of the 365 day transformation plan went alright. I like chest day and feel I got some good reps in. Also hit the treadmill and did my frog in a pot imitation and upped my jogging time a minute. Today my knees are kind of sore and am wondering if treadmill before leg day is a wise choice but not sure how else to break things up unless I push all cardio to the end of the week. maybe do leg day Monday, Tuesday Chest, break, Thursday back and treadmill and Friday arms/shoulders/treadmill but then back to back cardio may not be good either. sigh decisions decisions. Don't want to stop cardio as I don't want to lose what gains I have made although I feel that as the weight loss starts to kick in that the knees will be less of an issue than they are currently. Maybe time will tell and I just ride the wave now and see how it goes later.

Have you tried a Push/Pull/ Legs schedule yet? I used to be all about bro-splits (back/ bi's, Chest/ Tri's, Shoulders, legs), but once I got used to PPL, I absolutely love it. Way more dynamic and (for me), I can run a high HR the entire workout, which gives an actual simulation for how I'm going to use the gym gains in the real world. I'll run a bike for a 15 minute warmup, getting to a 150+ HR for the second half of the pedal, then shift into the resistance/ weight program. I don't take any rests; just fill with abs/ corrective/ lower back/ calves, etc. I do think I'd have better overall strength by using proper rest, higher weights, and lower rep count, but I'm after something a bit different. Calories burned in an hour are around 700, typical. I like the workout cause it's decently punishing and constant action. I need to add some more complex lifts in for better overall strength and coordination training. This has been my most recent priority as well as adding in mobility exercises.

Getting old has some sweetness. I'd destroy early 40 year old me.

 

[Sharxfan]

I will have to look into the push/pull stuff. The leg soreness just bothers me because in my younger days I ignored knee pain one day after a leg day and played a full court basketball game and tore my ACL so since then I have been very conscious of not doing it again. I may be overthinking leg day and running but would rather overthink than break something. I will see how it goes tonight with doing legs but not looking to get huge legs I just want more strength and also to get some more muscle but don't want 900lb squat legs. Would really love to get them in the same shape I was in in high school. Riding 20ish mile a day on a MB and almost always being in like 7th gear. legs were ripped and I could run for days and then sprint the last 1/2 mile home no issue.

 

[Climber]

One thing you must always be aware of when getting back into shape is that your muscles will come up to strength much faster than your joints. For HS kids, we require that they put in 6 weeks of build up before we put the forces of plyometrics (full) onto their bodies. The time for older people will require more time.
Trying to push too hard to early will often lead to injuries, then you're back to square one.

 

[Doobz]

One thing you must always be aware of when getting back into shape is that your muscles will come up to strength much faster than your joints. For HS kids, we require that they put in 6 weeks of build up before we put the forces of plyometrics (full) onto their bodies. The time for older people will require more time.
Trying to push too hard to early will often lead to injuries, then you're back to square one.

As a yo-yo dieter n gym drop out I can attest to this . Muscle memory lets me get the weights back up quickly but Then I start getting pains in my knees and shoulders