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More Time To Get Fit - 2025

mikev said:
Garmin Edge 1050 but it's hella expensive

Coros Dura cheaper option
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holy guacamole that’s fancy. a little too rich for my blood. i’m looking to track miles and possibly cadence and watts.
 
two wheel tramp said:
holy guacamole that’s fancy. a little too rich for my blood. i’m looking to track miles and possibly cadence and watts.
Click to expand...
Maybe try using the free version of Strava for a while? It's how I tracked everything before I got my Garmin watch. It kept me interested and informed well enough when things were new :)
 
Ahh, welcome to the data/metrics rabbit hole.

A phone handlebar mount and a cycling app is a good entry point. The Coros Dura is mid-range. The Garmin Edge 840, 850, or 10-series are high end. I don't recommend the cheaper Garmin 5-series because the lack of touchscreen is infuriating with the detailed Garmin UI.

Start recording activities to a cycling platform w your watch. Most would use Strava. RideWithGPS is another good free choice. Make sure to authorize Health/HR permissions so you also record HR.

You'll probably also want to watch metrics on your phone while riding & recording with your watch. This will prob require you to start recording with your phone too. Just make sure you don't double-upload. I have too many friends that record and upload to Strava with both their watch and their phone and screw up all their totals. Discard the phone one because it won't have HR.

For cadence, you’ll need a Bluetooth cadence sensor. Bluetooth will allow it to connect to your watch/phone or a cycling computer.
https://a.co/d/fUmrCkD
https://a.co/d/ekllQOH - This includes a speed sensor, which is unnecessary for road riding but good for MTB. The cadence alone from Garmin is the same price

For watts, you’ll need a powermeter solution which will be >$500 and may require cycling shoes. Powermeter pedals are the easiest option, but def require shoes. A crank powermeter is the next best option that could be used with flat pedals - but it's new bike parts that can present fitment challenges for diff bikes.

If/when you buy a cycling computer, you'll record data only with that. You could download another app to broadcast your AppleWatch HR to the computer. Or you could use a diff heartrate monitor (HRM). Chest strap HRMs provide the best data, far better than any watch. Bicep straps are also good, getting more common, and can be more comfortable.
 
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stangmx13 said:
Ahh, welcome to the data/metrics rabbit hole.

A phone handlebar mount and a cycling app is a good entry point. The Coros Dura is mid-range. The Garmin Edge 840, 850, or 10-series are high end. I don't recommend the cheaper Garmin 5-series because the lack of touchscreen is infuriating with the detailed Garmin UI.

Start recording activities to a cycling platform w your watch. Most would use Strava. RideWithGPS is another good free choice. Make sure to authorize Health/HR permissions so you also record HR.

You'll probably also want to watch metrics on your phone while riding & recording with your watch. This will prob require you to start recording with your phone too. Just make sure you don't double-upload. I have too many friends that record and upload to Strava with both their watch and their phone and screw up all their totals. Discard the phone one because it won't have HR.

For cadence, you’ll need a Bluetooth cadence sensor. Bluetooth will allow it to connect to your watch/phone or a cycling computer.
https://a.co/d/fUmrCkD
https://a.co/d/ekllQOH - This includes a speed sensor, which is unnecessary for road riding but good for MTB. The cadence alone is the same price

For watts, you’ll need a powermeter solution which will be >$500 and may require cycling shoes. Powermeter pedals are the easiest option, but def require shoes. A crank powermeter is the next best option that could be used with flat pedals - but it's new bike parts that can present fitment challenges for diff bikes.

If/when you buy a cycling computer, you'll record data only with that. You could download another app to broadcast your AppleWatch HR to the computer. Or you could use a diff heartrate monitor (HRM). Chest strap HRMs provide the best data, far better than any watch. Bicep straps are also good, getting more common, and can be more comfortable.
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i think i’ll skip the watts for now. :laughing

the Bluetooth cadence meter looks good and is inexpensive. i’ll get a good phone mount and use my apple watch, which does track mileage. thank you!

(p.s. thanks for being such a data nerd and giving me this info!)

edit: 6.99 miles on today’s ride. at 53.66 for the year. might go on a shorty tomorrow morning to make it 20 miles for the week.

saturday: 24 minutes rowing, 3000m, 11 minute pedal to surpass the 20 miles for the week mark, plus walking.

today? rest day but somehow clocked 85 minutes of exercise moto riding and walking around.
 
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So been about 1.5 weeks of adding the treadmill back into my routine and I must say feeling better and for some unknown reason ankle/ligament cramps seem to have gone away which makes me happy. Still stuck on old routine as I haven't found a cross fit style routine I am happy with but also haven't been able to devote a lot of time to research but will try to get it taken care of soon. I did a routine a lot of years ago that I liked I think it was in Men's Health and it was called the Spartacus workout will need to see if I can find that again.

So I am doing a 30 minute treadmill set with about 5 of that being warm up, at this moment 5 minutes of light jog which I increase by one minute each session, and the rest is fast walk at 3.3 on the treadmill whatever speed that winds up being who knows. last night that got me to about 1.9 miles of distance traveled per the machine for 30 minutes. VBeen thinking on this and when I hit the 15 minute jog interval I think i will cap it there and start upping the speed for a bit and then once I get to an intermediate pace will start upping time again. Shooting for 5 minute warm up then 25 minute fast pace jog/run then cool down which is usually about 5 minutes.

Starting to think backup muscles are slowing down my bench press gains so think I might need to start focusing on my triceps and shoulders more so I did hit them fairly hard last night and used higher weights than normal but think with everything besides my bench I have been complacent and need to really push myself more and track weights so I don't slip back into doing the same old weights and reps.

haven't lost any weight really but shirts do feel looser but who knows. end of the year dieting is probably not going to work out well for me with Turkey day and Tamale eve happening soon plus my daughter that is living in Ohio will be down for most of December so that means a lot of sushi will be eaten in December as she is my sushi buddy. watch out AYCE sushi as we will make you pay in December. :ROFLMAO:
 
You may not notice a difference on the scale if you build muscle as you lose fat, but it sounds like you're starting to see a difference in your body composition (looser clothes, feeling better in general) which is more important anyway. I will look online for this Spartacus workout you mentioned, I may have to give it a try sometime 💪

Keep it up! Sounds like you're doing great
 
so stopped being lazy and found it. There are a few variations out there but this is the OG one I remember.
1763746210973.png
 
Sharxfan said:
Starting to think backup muscles are slowing down my bench press gains so think I might need to start focusing on my triceps and shoulders more so I did hit them fairly hard last night and used higher weights than normal but think with everything besides my bench I have been complacent and need to really push myself more and track weights so I don't slip back into doing the same old weights and reps.

haven't lost any weight really but shirts do feel looser but who knows. end of the year dieting is probably not going to work out well for me with Turkey day and Tamale eve happening soon plus my daughter that is living in Ohio will be down for most of December so that means a lot of sushi will be eaten in December as she is my sushi buddy. watch out AYCE sushi as we will make you pay in December. :ROFLMAO:
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Is this all flat bench? I moved back to less FB and more incline bench (dumbbells). In a few workouts, I've picked up FB strength with better shoulder stability (I think).

On your scale stuff: IMO and IME, Kawakana is spot on: scale don't tell the tale. Pictures do. Take some of those intermittently (for yourself). You'll look back in 6 months and realize your memory of you looking better then will be incorrect many times...FWIW.
 
It’s cool most of that Spartacus workout uses weights. You can keep upping the weight so you don’t plateau.
 
Holeshot said:
Is this all flat bench? I moved back to less FB and more incline bench (dumbbells). In a few workouts, I've picked up FB strength with better shoulder stability (I think).

On your scale stuff: IMO and IME, Kawakana is spot on: scale don't tell the tale. Pictures do. Take some of those intermittently (for yourself). You'll look back in 6 months and realize your memory of you looking better then will be incorrect many times...FWIW.
Click to expand...
I may shift to more incline stuff as I think its a little light recently with my focus on flat bench or maybe revise routine and start with incline while I am fresh and can push more weight and then go flat bench and tire myself out more there.

stangmx13 said:
It’s cool most of that Spartacus workout uses weights. You can keep upping the weight so you don’t plateau.
Click to expand...
I really liked it when I did it a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. It seemed to work well and it also seemed to help my aerobic fitness also and will also include treadmill like I did back then.
 
So i saw @Holeshot yesterday. his gym is mind blowing. like wow.

i was lamenting about not being able to do a deep squat like i used to be able to do, even when 9 months pregnant, and demonstrated it… and got into a pretty deep squat that’s not quite 100% of normal but good enough. this is another step back to normalcy. note the chair near me to help me get back up. :laughing this is exciting and i’ll keep working on it.






IMG_9523.jpeg
 
thank you, Brett. i went for a pedal today. just a wee one. it was nice to be back in the saddle.
 
Great seeing you Monday @two wheel tramp ! Here's some items you may want to consider. You'll need to get a decent assortment of attachments to make full use of the crossovers. WRT supplements, Thorne is one of the more expensive brands, but also top notch purity/ quality. Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) in powered forms is great for digestion issues, immune support, healing, cellular protection, iron absorption, collagen, etc. Mixed with vitamin D+K, I think it's a cheap form of essential supplementation. Beet powder is great too for NoX/ blood flow/ recovery. Antioxidant as well. Then you've got your protein powders, cause lord knows: most don't get enough of that in our normal diets. I can't do lactose based products well, so I'm on vegan...but it's easy to get 60-70G in a day that's drinkable as well as add supplements/ leafy greens and hit "blend".



Screenshot 2025-11-26 at 2.08.04 PM.pngScreenshot 2025-11-26 at 2.08.15 PM.png

The squat thing was hilarious...you're squatted down pretty far saying "This is about what I did before...wait, I'm even lower..." and I'm thinking: yeah, but you're in jeans that are totally restrictive too. It was impressive.
 
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Ridley said:
Yeah, TWT, you rock!
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thank you. i’ve been told to resume walking by my PT but only for a mile at a time to focus on taking a full step/stride on my left side. the limp persists.
Holeshot said:
Great seeing you Monday @two wheel tramp ! Here's some items you may want to consider. You'll need to get a decent assortment of attachments to make full use of the crossovers. WRT supplements, Thorne is one of the more expensive brands, but also top notch purity/ quality. Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) in powered forms is great for digestion issues, immune support, healing, cellular protection, iron absorption, collagen, etc. Mixed with vitamin D+K, I think it's a cheap form of essential supplementation. Beat powder is great too for NoX/ blood flow/ recovery. Antioxidant as well. Then you've got your protein powders, cause lord knows: most don't get enough of that in our normal diets. I can't do lactose based products well, so I'm on vegan...but it's easy to get 60-70G in a day that's drinkable as well as add supplements/ leafy greens and hit "blend".



View attachment 585791View attachment 585792

The squat thing was hilarious...you're squatted down pretty far saying "This is about what I did before...wait, I'm even lower..." and I'm thinking: yeah, but you're in jeans that are totally restrictive too. It was impressive.
Click to expand...
thank you for the recommendations. plans are being made to schlep the machine inside and then i’m going to get swole. :rofl

yeah, i was kinda surprised how low i got. i’ve been practicing and tonight ill be doing some gentle yoga after rowing. i am convinced that keeping myself kinda loose keeps me from injuring myself as often.
 
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