Fitness Catch-All

I made a 1-page cheat sheet
IMAGE(https://i.imgur.com/6Z0os1X.jpg)

Hello all!

Looking to bulk up by doing bodyweight exercises.

I'm a 6ft, 76kg ectomorph with a pot-belly although cardio wise, reasonably fit (50min 10k).

Are there any free programs I could be directed to and, more importantly, do you think it'd be achievable without weights?

Thanks!

I've like Thenx in the past. But there are a a lot of homebrew weights you can use. IE back full of stuff to do curls.

g_Rm wrote:

Hello all!

Looking to bulk up by doing bodyweight exercises.

I'm a 6ft, 76kg ectomorph with a pot-belly although cardio wise, reasonably fit (50min 10k).

Are there any free programs I could be directed to and, more importantly, do you think it'd be achievable without weights?

Thanks!

This template is excellent.

IMAGE(https://www.barbellmedicine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/week-1-at-home.png)

Here's the greater explanation: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog...

Anyone have experience with DIY Peloton alternatives? We're looking at a Sunny or Schwinn (but open to other suggestions) and pairing with Peloton's subscription service.

I'm guessing this has been discussed before here, so if anyone has page links to check I'll read through em.

TLDR: any bike works. Get a wahoo cadence sensor.

You can use any bike with the peoloton app. You don't get the leaderboards without a blue tooth cadence sensor. Other than that any bikes works. A watch that works well with the app is helpful (something with a heart rate monitor). You will never be able to match what they say for resistance. They tell you numbers for resistance on their bikes so you'll have to interpret that. If you get a magnetic resistance bike that clicks 1-10 or something like that you could probably get close. So you'll probably just have to figure reisistance out yourself. If you've done spin classes before figure out what your flat road is and then do x number of turns for each percent. That gives you a base. Overall, just do what you think is about right.

So get any bike you want. Better bikes offer better experiences. My suggestion is magnetic resistance due to the maintenance (with felt pads you have to lube them regularly and some are a pain in the ass to get to). If you do get a felt pad bike look at the location of the pads and how you can spray them. We have a sunny and a livestrong and the sunny is much easier to remove the pads (no tools and takes about a minute). The Livestrong requires tools and removing the pad takes 15+ minutes and a lot of cursing.

Then, get a wahoo cadence sensor. You can use it to connect to the peloton app for the leaderboards. Without it, you never pass anyone on the leaderboard. Your spot is where you are when you join and you are always behind anyone with a Peloton bike.

Peloton has a 30 day trial so take advantage of that. You also might look at Studio Sweat on Demand. Their app isn't nearly as nice but they offer numerous discounts that take you down to about $10 a month and the trainers are more relatable. SSoD has videos on youtube which you can try. Their app isn't any different than watching youtube (though it has the ability to save videos and search). I subscribed to SSoD for a year. Then tried the Peloton app.

One other thing. I have my bike in front of a 32" tv. I used the apps on the tv. But for peloton's to work well you have to use a smartphone/ipad. So I would do both at the same time. Syncing them was a pain but not too hard. When I was done I had to delete the fire tv peloton workout or it would do double rides (and the firetv one was way off for metrics).

Supposedly my 18kg kettle bell will ship today or tomorrow.

boogle wrote:

Supposedly my 18kg kettle bell will ship today or tomorrow.

WHERE DID YOU FIND THIS VEIN OF GOLD?!?!?!?

Kettlebellkings

They had a restock in April and sold out within 2m so I only got one instead of the 2 I wanted.

Randomly found a copy of Ring Fit Adventure so I'm going to give that a go.

charlemagne wrote:

Randomly found a copy of Ring Fit Adventure so I'm going to give that a go.

Have fun!

It is no joke! Definitely works up a sweat. Feels weird running on the spot though.

charlemagne wrote:

It is no joke! Definitely works up a sweat. Feels weird running on the spot though.

I use it as a supplement to running, so I don't mind that weirdness. It does still get your heart rate up!

Hello all,

I am curious if anyone knows anything about fitness kayaks. I am not talking about the recreational kayaks you can get from Dicks, but higher end carbon fiber style pseudo touring kayaks.

My wife and I have two recreational kayaks that we go river exploring in, but I am looking for the next step

My wife is a competitive Dragon Boater, and due to COvid-19 her season has been shut down. As a result she purchased an Ares OutRigger Canoe.

https://outriggerzone.com/products/o...

I cannot keep up to that thing in a recreational kayak, so I have been thinking of investing in a fitness kayak, but I know nothing about them.

http://www.nelonewzealand.com/kayaks...

Does anyone have any experience?

No idea, but dumb question: can you not get the same thing your wife bought?

charlemagne wrote:

No idea, but dumb question: can you not get the same thing your wife bought?

I could, but it is a preference thing, for a couple of reasons.

Kayak is less expensive
Kayak is smaller and easier to store
Kayak paddling is easier on my shoulders vs traditional A-frame paddling

Well, that kayak looks gorgeous. I haven't done any "advanced" kayaking. I do know that the longer and skinnier they get, the harder it is on your back. Or at least, that's what it seems like to me. I actually did a day of kayaking in New Zealand when I lived there for a year. It was just a fun trip where we rented some and had a guide.

As someone who https://i.imgur.com/OFCQTud.jpg with his dad, I'd recommend building one! I have it in the back of my head to do an either stitch and glue one or a strip built one. Since I know how to work with epoxy and fiberglass, I think it would be fun to do a small project where I could get everything perfect. If I have a big garage someday, I'll do it.

I worked at West Marine for a bit part time recently, and none of the kayaks they had there looked as nice as that brand you linked. I don't know if you can get them in the US easily or not or what your location is.

Like many here, I've gone from weight-training at a gym several times a week to improvising at home using my bodyweight and whatever I have to hand. I finally bit the bullet today, and bought a home gym.

It wasn't cheap. So in order to justify the initial outlay, I'll be cancelling my gym membership. I've been a member at Fitness First since 2003, so it'll be the end of an era for me. But the blow is cushioned a lot by the fact that the gym chain I joined all those years ago will be very different to the one I'm leaving It is likely that there will be:

Pre-booked appointments of no more than an hour.
No use of the pool
Probably, no towels
Probably, fewer familiar faces because of the economic impact of the Covid-19 response
Possibly, no use of the changing rooms
Possibly, no classes

I can't justify £96 per month for such wholesale changes to the service I was paying for.

I feel incredibly sorry for everyone dealing with or facing hardship right now. But the people who personify it for me are the personal trainers whose acquaintance I've made over the years. They're all freelancers, and I imagine that most of their clients have gone and I suspect that few will be back in the short- to medium term.

In terms of the kit I've bought. I've got one of these coming...

IMAGE(https://www.exercise.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/ae82fe074c9c5dbdf5c482cc129d2380/1/4/14mehg7000_01.jpg)

... Or - more precisely - I have three flatpack boxes coming, containing around 250 screws, nuts, washers, cables, bits of metal tube.

I'm am looking forward to being able to train with weights again, but I am DREADING the 6 hours I'll have to spend building the thing.

I will post an update at some point.

Would be interested in the update.

My local gym has reopened with many of the precautions you note. Things I've observed:
- Very few people have come back, I'd estimate 5% of capacity.
- The pool is open but no more than 2 people in a lane, you have to use opposite sides of the pool to hop in/stop and they've closed every other lane (so, in a 6 lane pool, only 3 are open to swim in).
- All staff wear masks and carry a sanitizer bottle to wipe down equipment after every use.

I've been acquiring more and more home gym items the last three months since I delayed in March thinking this would last only a month or two. I'm overspending on shipping but I'm justifying this with the rationale that we'll still be in some form of quarantine for another year. Have to get things when they're available.

I was on a US equipment supplier's website today and was ~5k in line of ~35k waiting for them to reopen for orders. I had 3 specialty items I wanted to get...no dice.

I preordered a squat rack from a smaller company back in May and am still waiting for manufacturing and shipping. I'm patient because I know how hard supply lines are getting hammered and that patience is the name of the game right now.

I don't know how handy you are, but I built a full-size power rack out of heavy framing lumber about 10 years ago. It worked great for both squats and bench presses. You might want solid steel construction if you're using really heavy weights, but otherwise you can definitely build something sturdy.

Best of all, there's no shortage of lumber at Home Depot!

This guy did a lot more finishing work to make his look really nice, but mine was similar in design:

Most impressive.

I'm not handy at all, and I do have a half rack from Dick's that is just fine for the weights I'm moving. I just wanted to start upgrading my stuff. Hopefully supply chains are getting worked out and there will be more product available shortly (anecdotally, it seems like the big home gym suppliers are getting closer on catching the demand curve).

Garrad wrote:

Hello all,

I am curious if anyone knows anything about fitness kayaks. I am not talking about the recreational kayaks you can get from Dicks, but higher end carbon fiber style pseudo touring kayaks.

My wife and I have two recreational kayaks that we go river exploring in, but I am looking for the next step

My wife is a competitive Dragon Boater, and due to COvid-19 her season has been shut down. As a result she purchased an Ares OutRigger Canoe.

https://outriggerzone.com/products/o...

I cannot keep up to that thing in a recreational kayak, so I have been thinking of investing in a fitness kayak, but I know nothing about them.

http://www.nelonewzealand.com/kayaks...

Does anyone have any experience?

Sorry, it's a little late.

I'm a recent convert to Kyacking so I'm not an expert at all but I have found surfski's to be more enjoyable than kayaks. They are still fairly quick and imo more comfortable and much easier to balance. Based on the local club Epic and Nordic Kayaks are popular options.

Ah, Top_Shelf. I'm glad to learn that I'm not the only person who miscalculated back in March.

In the first couple of days of lockdown, a friend of mine suggested that I buy some kit. I pooh-poohed him, because my plan was to run every morning to outdoor gym in my local park, workout there and then run home.

Then the Government ordered the closure of the outdoor gyms...

Then, after a month, my hamstrings exploded (or, at least, that's what it felt like to me).

Since then, as you, demand for workout equipment has mushroomed while supply has dwindled.

i too am paying over the odds for what I'm getting, but I agree that we'll be living with social distancing for a while to come. And, I don't think all of our gym chains will survive the loss of members due to social distancing and the coming recession.

Sorry, it's a little late.
I'm a recent convert to Kyacking so I'm not an expert at all but I have found surfski's to be more enjoyable than kayaks. They are still fairly quick and imo more comfortable and much easier to balance. Based on the local club Epic and Nordic Kayaks are popular options.

So I contacted the Canadian rep for Nelo Kayaks, there are located in Oakville (Toronto) which is a 5 hour drive away. While the reply was quick, it was essentially "you should buy this model as I have them in stock". Despite my communication indicating I wanted to try out the kayaks etc, etc....

I then found the local Ottawa rep for Vajda Kayaks... we wnet back and forth on text over the course of Saturday and Sunday. He asked all sorts of questions about what I wanted, where I was going to use it, what the purpose was...

He invited me out this Wednesday afternoon to try a couple of kayaks out on the Ottawa river (home town).

So there are two models, the 52 and the 46 (the number represents the beam measurement, narrower is less stable and faster).

Now I need to try it and then look at beginner (52) vs next level up (46)

This is what I will be trying.

Vajda Next 52

FWIW, reward the place with better customer service. They're earning your business.

Top_Shelf wrote:

FWIW, reward the place with better customer service. They're earning your business.

100% agree

Top_Shelf wrote:

Would be interested in the update.

My local gym has reopened with many of the precautions you note. Things I've observed:
- Very few people have come back, I'd estimate 5% of capacity.
- The pool is open but no more than 2 people in a lane, you have to use opposite sides of the pool to hop in/stop and they've closed every other lane (so, in a 6 lane pool, only 3 are open to swim in).
- All staff wear masks and carry a sanitizer bottle to wipe down equipment after every use.

I've been acquiring more and more home gym items the last three months since I delayed in March thinking this would last only a month or two. I'm overspending on shipping but I'm justifying this with the rationale that we'll still be in some form of quarantine for another year. Have to get things when they're available.

I was on a US equipment supplier's website today and was ~5k in line of ~35k waiting for them to reopen for orders. I had 3 specialty items I wanted to get...no dice.

I preordered a squat rack from a smaller company back in May and am still waiting for manufacturing and shipping. I'm patient because I know how hard supply lines are getting hammered and that patience is the name of the game right now.

Was it Rep Fitness? I was in the same line, except 25K in line. I was only looking for weight storage and a pair of horns for my rack, so it was still in stock when I finally got in almost 5 hours later. Falling so far down the home gym rabbit hole...

Garrad wrote:
Sorry, it's a little late.
I'm a recent convert to Kyacking so I'm not an expert at all but I have found surfski's to be more enjoyable than kayaks. They are still fairly quick and imo more comfortable and much easier to balance. Based on the local club Epic and Nordic Kayaks are popular options.

So I contacted the Canadian rep for Nelo Kayaks, there are located in Oakville (Toronto) which is a 5 hour drive away. While the reply was quick, it was essentially "you should buy this model as I have them in stock". Despite my communication indicating I wanted to try out the kayaks etc, etc....

I then found the local Ottawa rep for Vajda Kayaks... we wnet back and forth on text over the course of Saturday and Sunday. He asked all sorts of questions about what I wanted, where I was going to use it, what the purpose was...

He invited me out this Wednesday afternoon to try a couple of kayaks out on the Ottawa river (home town).

So there are two models, the 52 and the 46 (the number represents the beam measurement, narrower is less stable and faster).

Now I need to try it and then look at beginner (52) vs next level up (46)

This is what I will be trying.

Vajda Next 52

That looks very nice, I hope the trial goes well.

That looks very nice, I hope the trial goes well.

It was very windy yesterday, so I stayed in a very small sailboat harbour. I managed to 6 or so small laps, about 50 feet in each direction before I fell into the water.

Yeah, I rolled it, but that was to be expected...

So, things I have realized, I have terrible kayak form and really need some lessons on position, stroke, well basically everything.

I need to start working on stretching, my exercising and diet change has helped me shed 115 lbs over the last 2 years, but I have neglected the stretching side of things... apparently being able to touch your toes is a good thing if you want to kayak.

Now I have to decide if this is a lifestyle I want to commit to, as the cost of this boat is pretty high.