Fitness Catch-All

mindset.threat wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

I am taking a two week break from the gym due to injury.

I was helping someone out with barbell squats when he started pitching backward pretty badly. I thought, he was going to hurt himself, so I reached out to correct him at precisely the point that he dropped the bar. It caught my finger under the bar and cut it in half when the bar landed on the rack deck. It splattered gibs all over my face and shirt.

I drove myself to the hospital and they were able to reattach it, but I was told that I should stay out of the gym (MRSA hazard with an open wound) for two weeks while it heals. In the meantime, I've just been doing pushups and situps at home.

Picsoritdidnthappen!!!!!!

I'm kidding. Here's to a quick recovery.

Edit: @ Tempest, my brother and I are doing the Tough Mudder in western MD tomorrow morning. Depending how that goes, we'll probably do the one in NJ in October since its near dad's house.

My loving wife brought her mom to the ER who, unsurprisingly, fainted at the sight of my severed finger.

They had to admit her too.

mindset.threat wrote:

Edit: @ Tempest, my brother and I are doing the Tough Mudder in western MD tomorrow morning. Depending how that goes, we'll probably do the one in NJ in October since its near dad's house.

Awesome! Please let us know how it goes tomorrow. I can't wait for it and looks like a ton of fun. Im doing it with my cousin and 7 of his friends. If you end up going to the one in Jersey let me know so we can group up.

I read this:

Paleocon wrote:

My loving wife brought her mom to the ER who, unsurprisingly, fainted at the sight of my severed finger.

They had to admit her too.

Then I read this:

TempestBlayze wrote:

Awesome! Please let us know how it goes tomorrow. I can't wait for it and looks like a ton of fun. Im doing it with my cousin and 7 of his friends. If you end up going to the one in Jersey let me know so we can group up.

Didn't read the quoted parts.

Hope you have a full recovery, Paleo.

There's a joke in here about Paleo giving someone the finger, but I can't quite get there....

So, given that I am resting my legs knees for the army run in 2 weeks, I decided that I would pull out my free weights.

I stayed with light weights (12.5 lbs total for each dumbbell and 45 on the barbell) and did a basic full-body workout while watching Sunday Night Football. I had forgotten how much I like the muscle soreness hat you get from pushing yourself.

I am also working on the 100 pushups/200 situps programs. I surprised myself with my pushups. Despite not having done any significant arm/chest work in a long time, I managed to push out 21 to start, and then 2 more reps of 20 each scattered in amongst the rest of my workout.

Given that I don't have any easy access to a place where I can do bench presses, are there any safe chest exercises I can do? If I just to bench presses with dumbbells, is that safe and as effective?

mudbunny wrote:

Given that I don't have any easy access to a place where I can do bench presses, are there any safe chest exercises I can do? If I just to bench presses with dumbbells, is that safe and as effective?

Push-ups with elevated feet and alternate hand placements can blast your chest, arms, and shoulders in ways a standard push-up might not. And, if you're up to it, one-arm push-ups are absolutely killer; I've been adding them slowing into my weekly routine, and they are fast becoming a staple.

Nicholaas wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

Given that I don't have any easy access to a place where I can do bench presses, are there any safe chest exercises I can do? If I just to bench presses with dumbbells, is that safe and as effective?

Push-ups with elevated feet and alternate hand placements can blast your chest, arms, and shoulders in ways a standard push-up might not. And, if you're up to it, one-arm push-ups are absolutely killer; I've been adding them slowing into my weekly routine, and they are fast becoming a staple.

The alternate pushups I know of are diamond pushups (thumbs and forefingers forming a diamond) and the style where your elbows are next to your body as opposed to being pointed outwards. Of course, I am not sure what other muscle groups they work. I *think* that the latter one works your triceps, but I am not sure on the diamond pushups.

mudbunny wrote:

The alternate pushups I know of are diamond pushups (thumbs and forefingers forming a diamond) and the style where your elbows are next to your body as opposed to being pointed outwards. Of course, I am not sure what other muscle groups they work. I *think* that the latter one works your triceps, but I am not sure on the diamond pushups.

Yup. Generally speaking, the closer your hand placement, the more the push works the triceps. Conversely, the wider your hands, the more it tends to work the pectorals. But your mileage may vary. Other variations, like the dive-bomber, can put more of a focus on the shoulder.

I'd also suggest adding in some pulling exercises to balance out all this pushing.

the finger is healing up nicely. I have no idea how the doc sewed me up. There wasn't a whole lot of finger left to attach, but he managed to reassemble the gore. Kudos to him.

Humans can regenerate surprisingly well if you attach the pieces back quickly. Good luck healing Paleo.

TO THE PUSHUP PEOPLE: Pushups are fantastic, keep up the good work on the 100 pushup program! One tip is to completing a large set, for example 50, is to knock out as many as you can before taking a pause. 5 sets of 10 pushups with restful pauses inbetween is usually more difficult than one set of 35 followed by 3 sets of 5.

SCIENCEY THING: Humans can regenerate almost as well as amphibians and reptiles if given the chance. However, for an arm or something to grow back it needs an open wound to grow out of. Amphibians live in water, which is a decently protective environment for open wounds. Mammals live on land, where open wounds lead to infection and death, so we develope protective scar tissue instead. The missing piece won't grow back, but the organism will live. If you can skip the scar and protect the wound by sticking the sliced off piece back on and covering it with bandages/cleaning stuff, then you're good to go.

*cut to doctor's office* "Now where did I put that extra spool of gauze...?"

So I recently got a gym membership, after a long (15+ years) hiatus from pursuing fitness. Used to be quite a gym rat in my younger days but that's another story. I had a home gym setup for the last couple of years. But I was starting to long for things only a gym could offer: squat rack, barbells, dead lifts etc. I have been there maybe four or five times so far. And in that time, to my exasperation, I realize some things will never change. People will camp on equipment. People will not wipe down equipment, leaving it a sweaty mess. People will not rack their weights. And people will use astonishingly bad form in an apparent effort to lift the most weight possible.

Making sure I use good form is the reason I starting out with low weights right now.

Heretk wrote:

So I recently got a gym membership, after a long (15+ years) hiatus from pursuing fitness. Used to be quite a gym rat in my younger days but that's another story. I had a home gym setup for the last couple of years. But I was starting to long for things only a gym could offer: squat rack, barbells, dead lifts etc. I have been there maybe four or five times so far. And in that time, to my exasperation, I realize some things will never change. People will camp on equipment. People will not wipe down equipment, leaving it a sweaty mess. People will not rack their weights. And people will use astonishingly bad form in an apparent effort to lift the most weight possible.

When I get in the mood to lift heavy, I go to my alma mater's gym (graduates get a free membership) and am astonished at what passes for lifting. All 3 bench racks are always busy, as are the dumbbells for - you guessed it - bicep curls. I never see anyone squat or dead lift, and rarely see anyone but me doing pull-ups. And yet, the place is almost always a mess; plates here and there, bars nowhere near their respective racks, people hanging out and chit-chatting - it's like some of them think the gym is part of their dorm room.

Kids these days.

So after W1 D1 of C25k my hips, groin, and quads are pretty stiff and sore. What's the general wisdom regarding tomorrow's run? Skip it? Do it but take it really easy? Run through it?

(apologies for the x-post for those in the fitocracy group)

So I'm on vacation in Miami and can't go in the water, so I spend a lot of time people watching on South Beach because of all the rumors of beautiful people there.

Mostly disappointed. Lots of folks wearing next to nothing, but most really should consider working out before going out in public.

Note to Euro dudes in banana hammocks: a skinny guy with a six pack is like a fat girl with double d's.

Maq wrote:

So after W1 D1 of C25k my hips, groin, and quads are pretty stiff and sore. What's the general wisdom regarding tomorrow's run? Skip it? Do it but take it really easy? Run through it?

(apologies for the x-post for those in the fitocracy group)

Personally, I would go but take it easy. At this stage, I would say that the important thing to do is to get in the habit of going out. If you have to, walk the entire way, but go out.

From the reading I've done on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness it appears the way to go is to keep training through it as the additional training kills the pain, promotes recovery, and helps prevent further pain. Apparently your muscles learn quickly.

Nicholaas wrote:
Heretk wrote:

So I recently got a gym membership, after a long (15+ years) hiatus from pursuing fitness. Used to be quite a gym rat in my younger days but that's another story. I had a home gym setup for the last couple of years. But I was starting to long for things only a gym could offer: squat rack, barbells, dead lifts etc. I have been there maybe four or five times so far. And in that time, to my exasperation, I realize some things will never change. People will camp on equipment. People will not wipe down equipment, leaving it a sweaty mess. People will not rack their weights. And people will use astonishingly bad form in an apparent effort to lift the most weight possible.

When I get in the mood to lift heavy, I go to my alma mater's gym (graduates get a free membership) and am astonished at what passes for lifting. All 3 bench racks are always busy, as are the dumbbells for - you guessed it - bicep curls. I never see anyone squat or dead lift, and rarely see anyone but me doing pull-ups. And yet, the place is almost always a mess; plates here and there, bars nowhere near their respective racks, people hanging out and chit-chatting - it's like some of them think the gym is part of their dorm room.

Kids these days.

Not sure if the college I work at is an anomaly but our weight room is clean. Every time I go in 95% of the weights are racked and the squat racks are in order (benches are all set to the same position and in place, bars are racked, etc.). The dumbbells are in place. I don't see a lot of squatting but I do see people squatting, dead lifting, and (of course) bench pressing. I see a lot of olympic lifts as well (mostly snatch and clean and jerk). Certainly there are people who spend a lot of time doing bicep curls and flys but I think the strength coach here believes in the current trend of full body olympic style lifts. I also think he gets on the students if he sees them making a big mess of the weight room. I know he's pretty fanatical about people using mats for dumbells so they don't drop them and scuff up the floor.

Paleocon wrote:

So I'm on vacation in Miami

Go to Tap Tap.

[size=4]also, ignore the fact I'm suggesting restaurants in the fitness thread.[/size]

TempestBlayze wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:

Edit: @ Tempest, my brother and I are doing the Tough Mudder in western MD tomorrow morning. Depending how that goes, we'll probably do the one in NJ in October since its near dad's house.

Awesome! Please let us know how it goes tomorrow. I can't wait for it and looks like a ton of fun. Im doing it with my cousin and 7 of his friends. If you end up going to the one in Jersey let me know so we can group up.

Amazing experience! 10.5 miles and about 20 obstacles, made even harder to due the freak storm that rolled through at 1:30, right when we started. There was so much rain that there were stretches where we couldn't run because the mud was calf deep. The first 2 water obstacles (an ice bath and mud trenches) were closed due to lightning but we looped back around towards the end to hit them before finishing. Took us about 3.5 hours moving at my friends pace...he played football in college but hasn't really seen a weight room or track since then, about 7 years ago.

The downside? 18,000 people signed up for the 9/8 run...which is great except the roads outside of Frederick, MD are not large enough to handle such an influx of people on a Saturday morning. Highway traffic was fine but the 5 miles between the highway and the farm took over 4 hours to get through. Our start time was 10:40 but we didn't actually start till 1:30 or so. So that sucked and was a huge oversight on the part of TM. Between the traffic delays and the storm, 1000 people on Saturday didn't get to run and Sunday's event was cancelled altogether...so another 8,000 were turned away. They are issuing discounts and complete refunds at least, so thats cool.

All in all, despite the delays we had a great time pushing ourselves. People of all kinds of fitness levels were out there helping one another...where else are you going to see strangers helping strangers all day long? We're going back in April for the next MD event. Anyone in the area is welcome to join us. Anyway, thats the quick rundown. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask.

mudbunny wrote:
Maq wrote:

So after W1 D1 of C25k my hips, groin, and quads are pretty stiff and sore. What's the general wisdom regarding tomorrow's run? Skip it? Do it but take it really easy? Run through it?

(apologies for the x-post for those in the fitocracy group)

Personally, I would go but take it easy. At this stage, I would say that the important thing to do is to get in the habit of going out. If you have to, walk the entire way, but go out.

Pretty much this. Not sure if you're a noob runner or simply getting back into it after some time off Maq, so forgive me if I'm trying to teach my grandmother to suck eggs, but part of getting accustomed to running is learning the difference between 'sore-and-stiff' and 'pain-and-injury'.

My general rule of thumb with running is to err on the side of caution, because it's very easy to develop overuse injuries through running. On the flip side, consistency is king when it comes to running. Consistency with caution will get you places

Whoo!!

Dr's appointment for my knees tomorrow, and I have pre-scheduled an appointment with a physiotherapist who specializes in running-related injuries next My first appointment with the physiotherapist is an hour, and they asked me to bring a light pair of jogging shorts and my jogging shoes. Also to avoid a big breakfast as i will be on a treadmill for a while so they can watch my form.

Hoping I get the OK to do my half marathon on the 23rd.

Made it through Day 2 of the Insanity workout hehe

Well, Dr has diagnosed me with chondromalacia. Anti-inflammatories (prescription strength) and physio are the prescription. Can still do my 1/2 marathon. Yay!!

She also mentioned that the inside of my quads are noticably bigger than the outside, and that it might be the source of my problems. I have a physiotherapy appointment next week, but in the meantime, what simple exercises can I do that will focus on the outside of my quad?

Front squats?

mindset.threat wrote:
TempestBlayze wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:

Edit: @ Tempest, my brother and I are doing the Tough Mudder in western MD tomorrow morning. Depending how that goes, we'll probably do the one in NJ in October since its near dad's house.

Awesome! Please let us know how it goes tomorrow. I can't wait for it and looks like a ton of fun. Im doing it with my cousin and 7 of his friends. If you end up going to the one in Jersey let me know so we can group up.

Amazing experience! 10.5 miles and about 20 obstacles, made even harder to due the freak storm that rolled through at 1:30, right when we started. There was so much rain that there were stretches where we couldn't run because the mud was calf deep. The first 2 water obstacles (an ice bath and mud trenches) were closed due to lightning but we looped back around towards the end to hit them before finishing. Took us about 3.5 hours moving at my friends pace...he played football in college but hasn't really seen a weight room or track since then, about 7 years ago.

The downside? 18,000 people signed up for the 9/8 run...which is great except the roads outside of Frederick, MD are not large enough to handle such an influx of people on a Saturday morning. Highway traffic was fine but the 5 miles between the highway and the farm took over 4 hours to get through. Our start time was 10:40 but we didn't actually start till 1:30 or so. So that sucked and was a huge oversight on the part of TM. Between the traffic delays and the storm, 1000 people on Saturday didn't get to run and Sunday's event was cancelled altogether...so another 8,000 were turned away. They are issuing discounts and complete refunds at least, so thats cool.

All in all, despite the delays we had a great time pushing ourselves. People of all kinds of fitness levels were out there helping one another...where else are you going to see strangers helping strangers all day long? We're going back in April for the next MD event. Anyone in the area is welcome to join us. Anyway, thats the quick rundown. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask.

I read about that on Facebook and it sounded terrible. I hope they didn't oversell the Tri-State one, but I guess im lucky since I will be in the first group on Saturday. I will cross my fingers that they learned from that one.

You probably had to wait before each obstacle right? With that many people I can't imagine it being smooth.

TempestBlayze wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:
TempestBlayze wrote:
mindset.threat wrote:

Edit: @ Tempest, my brother and I are doing the Tough Mudder in western MD tomorrow morning. Depending how that goes, we'll probably do the one in NJ in October since its near dad's house.

Awesome! Please let us know how it goes tomorrow. I can't wait for it and looks like a ton of fun. Im doing it with my cousin and 7 of his friends. If you end up going to the one in Jersey let me know so we can group up.

Amazing experience! 10.5 miles and about 20 obstacles, made even harder to due the freak storm that rolled through at 1:30, right when we started. There was so much rain that there were stretches where we couldn't run because the mud was calf deep. The first 2 water obstacles (an ice bath and mud trenches) were closed due to lightning but we looped back around towards the end to hit them before finishing. Took us about 3.5 hours moving at my friends pace...he played football in college but hasn't really seen a weight room or track since then, about 7 years ago.

The downside? 18,000 people signed up for the 9/8 run...which is great except the roads outside of Frederick, MD are not large enough to handle such an influx of people on a Saturday morning. Highway traffic was fine but the 5 miles between the highway and the farm took over 4 hours to get through. Our start time was 10:40 but we didn't actually start till 1:30 or so. So that sucked and was a huge oversight on the part of TM. Between the traffic delays and the storm, 1000 people on Saturday didn't get to run and Sunday's event was cancelled altogether...so another 8,000 were turned away. They are issuing discounts and complete refunds at least, so thats cool.

All in all, despite the delays we had a great time pushing ourselves. People of all kinds of fitness levels were out there helping one another...where else are you going to see strangers helping strangers all day long? We're going back in April for the next MD event. Anyone in the area is welcome to join us. Anyway, thats the quick rundown. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask.

I read about that on Facebook and it sounded terrible. I hope they didn't oversell the Tri-State one, but I guess im lucky since I will be in the first group on Saturday. I will cross my fingers that they learned from that one.

You probably had to wait before each obstacle right? With that many people I can't imagine it being smooth.

Only 2 obstacles really had a wait...the first was a high wall (12 feet?) that you climb up and then jump off of into a pond. But since you have to wait at the top for the people below you to swim away, it gets pretty backed up. Worth a 5 minute wait though. The second was Everest (the halfpipe). So many people were trying to get up the pipe over and over that it turned into a bit of a mess. Its also by far the most dangerous obstacle mostly due to the number of people just screwing around. We just skipped it.

Edit: MD course map, http://toughmudder.com/wp-content/up...

NJ looks better since its actually in and around the racetrack: http://toughmudder.com/events/tri-st...

I hope so! Pretty excited.

I am a couple weeks from my first race. Just a little 5k, which feels a little anti-climactic since my standard workout runs are 3-3.5 miles, but it's for a good cause. I figure if this goes well, I'll look hard at some longer races.

I got back into running with my wife almost a year ago, but she has a much harder time with fitness after a handful of pregnancies, so I let the races be her thing. A little success and adulation goes a long way after all.

If anyone has any tips for running in a road race, especially one that is filled with a wide range of runners, relative to skill level, please share.