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Time To Get Fit - 2024

HappyHighwayman said:
I totally agree, the back recovey is mostly from core strengthening, and not from working out my back.

Just did about 25 km on the bike with friends , mostly uphill, e.g. the final segment from from Muir Beach. Pretty good. my legs felt very strong.

Last few KM cut off as I shut down the computer when we stopped for beers and pizza.
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Great ride. That area is so awesome for riding. I wish I could spend more time there.
 
For any sitter at desks, cyclist, runner, or person with a back - I've been doing this quick workout 1-3x a week and it has my back feeling stronger and more supportive. It takes 12min and requires no equipment. The difficulty is very dependent on how hard you try.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BOTvaRaDjI
 
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HappyHighwayman said:
My trainer now does like 20 minutes of warmups and stretches targeting the muscle groups we're going to work out. He wants me to do X numbers of pulls, pushes, squats, hinges, etc per week. We do deadlifts, squats, rear lunges, shoulder presses, pullups, bench press (dumbell), romanian deadlifts, and rows for the most part. He mixes it up every few months.

When my back issues were prevalent, just stretching out my hamstrings twice a day made a huge difference.
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Do any of those strengthen your hamstrings and Gluts?

You have to keep the balance if you want to stay healthy.

Stretching your hamstrings is a must, never slack on that because hamstrings are the key to many things.

Also, as you get older, it's very important to keep your core strong, I know plenty of guys who got a hernia because they didn't work on their core/abs for too long.

Also, has everybody 50+ gotten their Shingles vaccine? If not, I highly recommend it!
 
My coach has been kicking my butt every weekend. The main intervals for this block are 3x30min at 85-90% FTP with 20-30min rest in between. Plus they now include another 2hrs of riding after finishing those intervals. And this weekend is the worst - 2-3hrs on Fri, intervals + extra for 4-5hrs on Sat, and 4-5hrs on Sun. These are literally the hardest workouts I've ever done - even comparing back to Hell week for HS swimming many years ago :laughing.

I'm already noticing the gains. The build from 2x30 to 3x30 hasn't been too bad. And my 2nd attempt at 3x30 went really well, doing 10w higher for each intervals and still feeling ok for the extra riding after. I averaged 227w (3.52w/kg), 224w (3.48 w/kg), and 217w (3.38w/kg) for each interval. I think these will really pay off for my long races, in part because all of it is convincing me that I CAN go that hard during a race and still feel good.

Here's some of the data from last Sat.
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Robert, with all due respect, you are a nerd about this stuff and it's neat to see.
 
+1 on the data Robert.

I'm curious what Gamin says your Lactate Threshold is. Right now Garmin says my Lactate Threshold is 168 BPM at 8:47 min/mile pace. Does Garmin measure Lactate Threshold in cycling? I know running power and cycling power are completely different. I think Lactate threshold would be the same no matter what activity you are doing. Is that right?

Garmin says my cycling FTP is 229W at 2.83 W/kg. The major cavoite there is I don't have a power meter on my bike. I'm not sure how accurate that is. I don't think I'm near as strong a rider as you are so, 229W feels optimistic to me.
 
Mike95060 said:
+1 on the data Robert.

I'm curious what Gamin says your Lactate Threshold is. Right now Garmin says my Lactate Threshold is 168 BPM at 8:47 min/mile pace. Does Garmin measure Lactate Threshold in cycling? I know running power and cycling power are completely different. I think Lactate threshold would be the same no matter what activity you are doing. Is that right?

Garmin says my cycling FTP is 229W at 2.83 W/kg. The major cavoite there is I don't have a power meter on my bike. I'm not sure how accurate that is. I don't think I'm near as strong a rider as you are so, 229W feels optimistic to me.
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My Edge gives a recommendation for Lactate Threshold Heartrate every now and again. According to that, mine is 174bpm. A lab test I did in Dec 2022 said it was 172bpm. My Forerunner thinks it's 177bpm. Close enough.

My FTP in the 240s is 3.8 w/kg. 1 W/kg more is a lot, so I'm probably noticeably stronger uphill. It'd be a smaller difference on flat though.

IMO, around 3.0 w/kg is reasonable for a fit person that hasn't done a ton of structured training. But I agree you should be skeptical of Garmin's guess. It's making too many assumptions when guessing your power output for any ride. Though it's probably within 20w.
 
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:thumbup Right on. I don't have much of a feel on the W/kg metric. I'm surprised that 1W/kg is a big jump but, I take your word for it. I'll cop to being sad at the graphic Garmin gave me for my est FTP. :laughing

Endurance training is by far one of the most humbling things I have ever done.
 

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Climber said:
Do any of those strengthen your hamstrings and Gluts?
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Pretty sure squats, reverse lunges, and RDL hit all the leg muscle groups.


The RDL primarily strengthens your posterior chain muscles, including your lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Secondary muscles strengthened by RDLs include your core muscles, adductors (inner thigh muscles), traps, and posterior deltoids.
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I'm totally sold on hamstring stretches, every day. I have had problems with plantar fascitis for years, and stretching every day minimizes the problems to almost nothing.
 
my v02 cracked 33 yesterday. i was 31.1 when i first got the watch and its been climbing as walking distances have increased.
 
Climber said:
Also, has everybody 50+ gotten their Shingles vaccine? If not, I highly recommend it!
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I keep meaning to go get it but keep not getting it for no reason I can ascertain.


So Monday was a good day at the gym. I hit my goal of doing a 5.5MPH pace for 9 minutes could have probably hit my 10 minute mark but didn't want to push it too hard as I feel I can do it easily on Friday but because I felt so good did another 3 minute interval after a walking pace interval of 3.4MPH at a 3 incline for 5 minutes. I keep increasing my continuous 5.5MPH pace by a minute every Monday and Friday. I think I will keep the 5.5MPH pace until I get to 20 minutes and then up the pace until I get to 6MPH for that same time. I like seeing that the amount of distance traveled is going up and including warm up and cool down I am almost at 3.5 miles traveled in about 50 minutes.

Also have been increasing the weight on my flat bench as I lost a lot of poundage last year after laying off the gym for 2 months. Still a ways away from where I was but every week I add 5lbs total to the bar.

I do need to keep better track of the weights I am doing for each exercise but it's hard with all the kids in the gym and not being able to consistently use the same machines or free weights as they are occupied more often now.

Also been steadily losing almost 5 pounds a week just by keeping my portions under control and just eating what I normally eat on a day to day basis so am pretty happy with this and hope I will meet my weight loss goal for April and also for May.
 
Sharxfan said:
I keep meaning to go get it but keep not getting it for no reason I can ascertain.
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If you need any incentive, go look up the effects of shingles...

Shingles images on google

I stress this because one of our formerly most active and inspirational members got taken down by them a couple years ago. I'm certain that he would tell you to GTF down and get your vaccine!
 
38? fuck!

My uncle got shingles really bad in his 50s. His entire left arm and hand was swollen and hardly usable for almost 2 years. For some of that time, the left side of his face was the same.
 
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ugh. yuck o. i swear the femtosecond i’m eligible i wanna get stabbed and vaccinated. shingles sounds like hell.
 
two wheel tramp said:
Berto, my Fuji was a 19”. My three speed is a touch large for me but it has no top bar so it works. i’d say a 17” or possibly a 53 or 54cm frame. I am 5’7” with a 31” inseam.

I never thought about low T before but i did have an oophorectomy in 2012 due to an ovarian cyst. that can cause low T. i’m 45 so “the change” hasn’t hit me yet.
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Darn it, I was hoping you were shorter. I've got a brand new C-dale Caad 6 my GF never used/ uses. I'd practically give it away to the right person.
 
Well, it's race week. BWR UT is Saturday and I'm not looking forward to it. The course looks really fun and I'm feeling very strong these days. But it's going to be fucking cold. The start will prob be in the mid 20s F and the high prob wont reach 40F. Plus the race starts at 915am, leading to a ~5PM finish and evening winds and cold to deal with. There's also a chance of snow in the afternoon. I've bought so many layers - thermal bibs, thermal baselayer, thermal jersey, fleece vest, windblocker gloves, and toe covers. But it may not be enough to keep me from suffering too much. I'm hoping for no DNF. But I will call it if I get dangerously cold.

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