Fitness/Diet Accountability Thread

FireDragon76 said:

Today I mostly just did low intensity steady state at the gym on hand cycles and exercise bikes. I also did some leg curls to work on my hamstrings, and I used the calf raise machine.

I did a treadmill submaximal fitness test, up an incline, and it said my VO2Max was 42, which is a big improvement. I plan to periodically retake the test and keep track of the score.

Tomorrow I plan to change up my routine and focus on calisthenics and walking. I am going to simplify my plan and just do pushups, inverted rows, and squats. Arnold Presses will be done on Saturday's. I decided that I get enough shoulder work load with everything else I am doing, there's no reason to have pushups and presses together on the same day.

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FireDragon76 said:

I don't think it makes a big difference. I've tried higher protein and just getting slightly above the RDA, and there's no noticeable difference in muscle mass gains. I wouldn't recommend going below the RDA, though: get at least 0.8-0.9 grams of protein per kilogram of lean body weight.

One of the best ways you can add protein to your diet is just eating more whole grain. White rice has less than half the protein of brown rice. Brown rice also has more mineral content. You can soak brown rice overnight to make it more digestible.

The cheapest source of protein in an Asian country is probably going to be texturized soy protein or dried tofu. You can probably find it at a Chinese grocery. During the pandemic I was buying dried soy nuggets from Taiwan.

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FireDragon76 said:

Carbs are actually important for muscle gain as they help create an anabolic environment for muscle tissue, and they help support healthy hormone levels in physically active people. Most people would do better, though, to eat less processed carbs and sugar as part of their regular diets. You can also plan out your carb-heavy meals to be before and after a workout, to get the most benefit.

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timewerx said:

I already have a high carb diet. I crash quite dramatically during a long cardio workout when I'm running low on glycogen so I would know if didn't have enough carbs the day before.

I avoid eating anything before a workout.

This last couple of weeks, I had more difficulty sticking to my workout schedule and sometimes I workout in the afternoon a few hours after lunch (it's essentially the same as eating or "fueling" before a workout) and no longer called "fasted training".

Some of the health problems I used to have that went away during 100% fasted trainings last year, they're back now when I no longer could keep on doing fasted trainings all the time

I have maladapted to fueled workouts and my blood sugar seems less well regulated atm. Things got messed up when I started drifting off my athletic training. I'm hoping that recent adjustments to my work will enable me to stick to my weekly training schedule again.

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BPPLEE said:

You guys keep track of stuff way more than I do.
I try to stick to WW, protein shakes and avoiding junk food

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timewerx said:

I make a snack made of whole wheat flour + oats. It's practically whole grain flour. Additionally, I always have protein-rich legumes in my meal, two glasses of milk everyday, and of course, meat.

I meet the minimum protein RDA for muscle maintenance, but I think I could use more protein to actually grow them since I do fairly intense resistance training as well with lots of cardio.

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FireDragon76 said:

You don't need much more protein to grow muscle. There have been individuals competing as amateur body builders that were on "low" protein diets (just consuming near the RDA) due to kidney disease.

The RDA provides for normal levels of activity, so it should cover most peoples needs. For somebody that's engaged in frequent athletics, they will normally get more protein just by eating a larger quantity of food in a day. Targets above that you see on the internet are mostly what amounts to guesses based on what certain demographics already tend to eat.

If a person is not gaining muscle mass, more likely it's down to factors such as stress, sleep, engaging in the wrong kinds of exercises, or simply not eating enough calories in the diet. Most fitness influencers on the internet are also on steroids and performance enhancing drugs, whether they will admit to it or not (in the US and UK there's lots of steroid use among regular gym-goers), so you have to consider that when you judge expectations.

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FireDragon76 said:

My VO2Max has recovered since COVID, probably even improved, however, my upper body has not. As a result, I'm getting more muscle soreness, which can interfere with sleep. The calisthenics yesterday left me too sore. I had plenty of cardiovascular endurance, however, the muscles themselves must have developed crazy amounts of lactate that doesn't easily clear out. If I had the dough for it, I'd be hitting a sauna right around now, and since it's not hot enough outside, a sauna suit won't do me much good today. Mostly I'm using old-fashioned wintergreen rubbing alcohol, and that seems to work well for a few hours.

I did a VO2Max test on my watch yesterday and it still says 35. I don't trust it. I think you have to do a submax test like this on a real track on perfectly level ground for best results. It isn't accounting for elevating differences and things like that. Even though Central Florida has very few real hills, alot of our spaces actually have subtle grades and elevation changes to encourage drainage. There's no trail running mode, either, on this watch, so you'ld probably have to create a custom activity to deal with that if you are using GPS at all, as it will automatically create a VO2Max score any time you do a walk or run activity with sufficient activity for ten minutes using the GPS mode. I would much rather the watch have a non-exercise VO2Max test, similar to what Polar uses. Anything not done on a treadmill for estimating VO2Max is going to be iffy anyways, because it's not a controlled setting with the proper equipment.

I'm going to switch to using bands, light clubs, cardio machines, and arm cycles for a while and focus on rehab of the muscles in my upper body- I'm not ready for weights or calisthenics yet. I've got decent biceps and triceps (those are easy to get, just burn through alot of volume with dumbells, and arm soreness is less draining physiologically), it's my core, shoulders, and back that need work. I've also read about a technique of using an arm cycle in reverse, helping to develop the posterior chain, and I'm going to give that a try. With an arm cycle, it's also easier to meter out exercise activity and manage the overall load.

IMO, arm cycles are very much underrated. It works alot of muscles all at once. The stimulus to fatigue is also decent: it's good for older beginners or rehab, and a good upper-body compliment to using an exercise bike or elliptical.

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BPPLEE said:

Have you seen the X3 Band and Bar system? It’s a little pricey but I have gotten good use out of mine.
There is a bar on Amazon I’ll post a link to and you can find bands all over. You wouldn’t have a footplate but you could just stand on the band.
I also have the InnStar band and it works great for chest press and military press. It’s so convenient too.
If I’m not feeling motivated I put my duffel bag in living room with the TV on and work out with the bands. You can get a good workout right there in your living room.
This is the bar. I got the longest one it comes in 3 pieces so you can use 2 or 3 pieces so it’s two bars in one. I got it because the X3 bar is too short. I put some heavy duty hooks on it
But later I bought the X3 long bar. It’s so much more convenient.

Loading…

www.amazon.com

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FireDragon76 said:

I have something similar, a generic bar and a footplate made out of high density plastic.

In the past I've used the side of a gate to lash the band around. The footplate is useful for some things but my back can't tolerate bent-over rows, deadlifts, and that sort of thing with it at the moment. I prefer upright rows or lat pulldowns, and I'm doing backwards walking/cycling and bridges to target the posterior chain instead of doing deadlifts.

Bands are less likely to cause muscle damage than weights, and much easier on the joints. Some bodybuilders don't like them, but they are good for gaining strength, easy to use and convenient.

ATM, I think I will stick to cardio machines until I develop more muscular endurance in my upper body and get my sleep routine fixed.

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BPPLEE said:

Today’s workout
Kettlebell Swings 35x 50-30x 10-25 x 10- 20 x 10 no rest between
Heavy Mace 200 reps
Medium Mace 200 reps

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FireDragon76 said:

I hope to eventually be able to do kettle bell swings. It looks like great exercise on days you want to do something more intense, and are a good alternative to deadlifts. My S.O. can do them without any issues, using a beginner weight. I think for me the concern is the lower back and a general tendency I have towards poor mechanics.

Today I did about 45 minutes total of low intensity cardio at the gym on the Sci-Fi ergometers they have. Lots of backward pedaling, hand cranking, and recumbent stepping. Runalyze was satisfied by the training load (neither too much nor too little), and subjectively I did notice was that today my stress levels were lower after my workout, and I took a nap in the afternoon and my Body Battery had a stronger recharge. I felt like I did some work in my muscles but I didn't have any feverish sensations in my muscles like I get with weights. So I feel like I'm getting a better sense of the proper intensity to use, especially when dealing with external stresses (recovering from COVID, poor sleep quality, and a fibro flareup).

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BPPLEE said:

So far the swings have not bothered my back. Actually my legs felt tight after the swings and doing the swings first made the Mace routine more challenging.

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FireDragon76 said:

If a person is not gaining muscle mass, more likely it's down to factors such as stress, sleep, engaging in the wrong kinds of exercises, or simply not eating enough calories in the diet. Most fitness influencers on the internet are also on steroids and performance enhancing drugs, whether they will admit to it or not (in the US and UK there's lots of steroid use among regular gym-goers), so you have to consider that when you judge expectations.

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timewerx said:

That is probably right.

During my 20's I had gym access at work and most workouts I did were resistance to get bigger muscles.

For few years, I grew some muscles. Just looking right, not like I'm applying to be a model. Then for one year, I started drinking a popular brand protein shake. During that time my muscles grew even bigger. It did made a difference.

Not exactly sure it's simply because of more protein but perhaps, there maybe growth stimulants added to protein shakes too?

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