The Official Hype Fitness Thread 6.0 - Part 8

[ComicChick]

sage advice there

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

I’m getting tonnes of steps walking around my lounge and some limited weights in. Deadlifts are easy to do as well curls/presses, but I can’t easily do squats or bench press. I need to make cardio a regular daily thing too. I’ve been working longer hours while at home though.

Hey Iceman, I know this is pretty late after the fact, but you can fairly easily, and decently cheaply build some squat stands.

Easy to find DIY instructions on how to build them with two 5 gallon paint buckets, concrete which runs like $5 for 50lbs, and a couple of 4”x4” or 2x4”

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

How’s everyone’s routine been since lockdown set in? I know a lot of stuff has reopened, or is slowly in the process of.

 

[Iceman]

Hey Iceman, I know this is pretty late after the fact, but you can fairly easily, and decently cheaply build some squat stands.

Easy to find DIY instructions on how to build them with two 5 gallon paint buckets, concrete which runs like $5 for 50lbs, and a couple of 4”x4” or 2x4”

Oh right thanks. I’ll look into this. Cheers mate.

 

[Flash525]

How’s everyone’s routine been since lockdown set in? I know a lot of stuff has reopened, or is slowly in the process of.

My weight training routine never actually took off, hah.

When my gym shut up shop (because of covid) I created myself a little home workout regime, nothing too fancy, just some exercises to keep me ticking over; light barbell curls, chair assisted tricep dips, bodyweight squats, lateral raises and such. Since I made that little regime, probably some 10-12 weeks ago, I've done it a total of three times.

We've been (mostly) lucky over here (UK) with some good weather, so I've spent many weekday mornings or afternoons cycling around (30-45miles) and then pushing the 70-90mile rides over the weekends. I've also been out running, and occasionally (once a week on average) I've walked either to work, or home from work - that's about a 5/6mile one way trip, so I've kept active, and my heart (and legs) are healthy, but not so much my upper body muscles etc.

I have (since June 1st) ensured I've done a round of 20 press-ups per day too, just something to make sure my first returning set or presses at the gym don't make me look too weak!

Speaking of the gym too, mine is said to reopen on July 5th, and honestly, I don't see how they can so long as social distancing and such is still in place. It's not the biggest, or best maintained gym as it is, so it'll be interesting (also laughable) to see what they've got in store for their grand reopening.

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

My weight training routine never actually took off, hah.

When my gym shut up shop (because of covid) I created myself a little home workout regime, nothing too fancy, just some exercises to keep me ticking over; light barbell curls, chair assisted tricep dips, bodyweight squats, lateral raises and such. Since I made that little regime, probably some 10-12 weeks ago, I've done it a total of three times.

We've been (mostly) lucky over here (UK) with some good weather, so I've spent many weekday mornings or afternoons cycling around (30-45miles) and then pushing the 70-90mile rides over the weekends. I've also been out running, and occasionally (once a week on average) I've walked either to work, or home from work - that's about a 5/6mile one way trip, so I've kept active, and my heart (and legs) are healthy, but not so much my upper body muscles etc.

I have (since June 1st) ensured I've done a round of 20 press-ups per day too, just something to make sure my first returning set or presses at the gym don't make me look too weak!

Speaking of the gym too, mine is said to reopen on July 5th, and honestly, I don't see how they can so long as social distancing and such is still in place. It's not the biggest, or best maintained gym as it is, so it'll be interesting (also laughable) to see what they've got in store for their grand reopening.

Ah man that sucks, sorry to hear. Yeah, here in the US, it's already clear that levels of cases are spiking again, within the states, and areas that have been reopened for about a month, or so. From what experts have said, they're pretty confident 80% of the US population is going to get it. So like everyone else, as long as we can keep the hospitals from getting over capacity all at once, that's really the main goal.

Luckily I managed to get the last piece of equipment for my home gym, that is getting me through just enough to make progress. Whew!

 

[Flash525]

Ah man that sucks, sorry to hear. Yeah, here in the US, it's already clear that levels of cases are spiking again, within the states, and areas that have been reopened for about a month, or so. From what experts have said, they're pretty confident 80% of the US population is going to get it. So like everyone else, as long as we can keep the hospitals from getting over capacity all at once, that's really the main goal.

That doesn’t surprise me one bit, especially with the riots and protests going on at the moment. Social distancing is a theme of the past, when it’s a very present problem.

 

[gohei_]

I do all my workouts from home, except for the kung fu classes, which is all being done outdoors at the moment with basically zero phsyical contact. So there's a lot of weapons training instead.

Besides that, our country hasn't been very strict about closing down anything at all really, and I believe all of the gyms in my area has been open all this time.

 

[Iceman]

My weight training routine never actually took off, hah.

When my gym shut up shop (because of covid) I created myself a little home workout regime, nothing too fancy, just some exercises to keep me ticking over; light barbell curls, chair assisted tricep dips, bodyweight squats, lateral raises and such. Since I made that little regime, probably some 10-12 weeks ago, I've done it a total of three times.

We've been (mostly) lucky over here (UK) with some good weather, so I've spent many weekday mornings or afternoons cycling around (30-45miles) and then pushing the 70-90mile rides over the weekends. I've also been out running, and occasionally (once a week on average) I've walked either to work, or home from work - that's about a 5/6mile one way trip, so I've kept active, and my heart (and legs) are healthy, but not so much my upper body muscles etc.

I have (since June 1st) ensured I've done a round of 20 press-ups per day too, just something to make sure my first returning set or presses at the gym don't make me look too weak!

Speaking of the gym too, mine is said to reopen on July 5th, and honestly, I don't see how they can so long as social distancing and such is still in place. It's not the biggest, or best maintained gym as it is, so it'll be interesting (also laughable) to see what they've got in store for their grand reopening.

Pretty impressive on the cardio side during lockdown.

 

[ComicChick]

what fitness trackers are yall using? if any?

 

[Flash525]

what fitness trackers are yall using? if any?

I'm a Strava user, have been for years, and it's all free.

Strava has recently changed some of it's features for premium users, but the bulk of what Strava does, and the ability to record and save your activities along with providing you some statistics at the end is worth the download. Shouldn't cost you anything.

Plus you may get a friendly follower out of it!

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

what fitness trackers are yall using? if any?

Depends, are you talking about a fitness tracker for steps, biking, running, etc? Strava is a big one out there, there's a few others though that are also very good. I honestly don't track my fitness activity. If I do, it's just the built in iPhone health app.

I only use FatSecret to track my calories, and macros. Which you can also track your activity in it as well.

 

[ComicChick]

ill researcg Strava and FatSecret, never heard of the latter before.

i have a fitbit, it tracks my steps, sleep heart rate etc, but i've had it so long and it's so scratched up that i can hardly see the readout, except at night or in dim areas.
been considering getting a smart watch, and was leaning towards the nike one. not just for fitness goals, but for life and all too.

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

ill researcg Strava and FatSecret, never heard of the latter before.

i have a fitbit, it tracks my steps, sleep heart rate etc, but i've had it so long and it's so scratched up that i can hardly see the readout, except at night or in dim areas.
been considering getting a smart watch, and was leaning towards the nike one. not just for fitness goals, but for life and all too.

If you're learning towards a smartwatch, there are much better options out there, of course as with everything, better usually costs more.

I know you've tried to stick with it for years CC, how much progress have you seen, or made, or been happy with? I think tracking steps, having an activity monitor, etc is great.

However, I think it's much easier to see the results your activity has, which can have a better impact on someone's progress going forward, with a scale, and tape measure. I know a lot of people say to not look at the scale, but it's the easiest way to see how progress is going. That plus measuring your waist, it's pretty simple. If the number is getting smaller, you're doing great, if it's not, or getting bigger, things need to change.

Any tool that helps someone though is great, but activity monitors are for one, inaccurate, even the most accurate ones, and can be wildly inaccurate. So there's also that. Just my two cents.

 

[Iceman]

what fitness trackers are yall using? if any?

All the apple stuff. IHealth on iPhone and Apple Watch, plus I use Strava (haven’t recently after I changed phones but will get it setup again).

 

[Iceman]

 

[ComicChick]

i went for a short walk yesterday. supposed to rain here all week, but yesterday was nice

 

[B]

 

[InCali]

We had a gym downstairs in the building I was working in and I was going down there virtually every day. Walked 2 miles in 30 minutes and did a moderate 30 minute weight regime. Then COVID.....haven't really done carp since except a few walks. I'm working from home and am actually working more than I was. Kind of like when my manager gave me a cell phone years ago. I need to try to make time, but it's really hard to do.

 

[gohei_]

I don't mind running in the rain, it can be quite nice. The only downside is that my glasses get so dirty and honestly it's a bit of a chore to get them real clean.

 

[Canadian Rider]

Fitbit - The newest Charge - Charge 4.
It does most of the things I would need and a few more.
Sleep monitoring can be a bit dodgy but it has a built in GPS so you don't need a phone to track your routes.

 

[ComicChick]

I was looking at the charge 4 too. It’s going to be that or the Nike smart watch. I could get a regular Apple Watch, I just prefer the Nike one but I’ve never used one before and I wouldn’t use it just for fitness.

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

I was looking at the charge 4 too. It’s going to be that or the Nike smart watch. I could get a regular Apple Watch, I just prefer the Nike one but I’ve never used one before and I wouldn’t use it just for fitness.

The Best Fitness Trackers for 2020

This article might be helpful too in making your decision. Even if you don't go with their pick, there's usually at least enough good information that helps in your decision making process.

 

[BAH HUMBBUG!]

We had a gym downstairs in the building I was working in and I was going down there virtually every day. Walked 2 miles in 30 minutes and did a moderate 30 minute weight regime. Then COVID.....haven't really done carp since except a few walks. I'm working from home and am actually working more than I was. Kind of like when my manager gave me a cell phone years ago. I need to try to make time, but it's really hard to do.

I hear ya man, it can be hard, especially having to work so much. But if staying healthy, being in shape, working out, having some type of fitness is important to you, as it should be to everyone at least on some level. Then you just need to figure out a way to prioritize it. I'm not saying it's easy by any means, I've struggled to maintain any routine for more than a few months over the past 20 or so years.

There's no one right answer, or one right approach for everyone. Sometimes it's as simple as sitting down when you have time, hopefully on a weekend, and writing, typing, or visually mapping out your entire weekly schedule. This can help you figure out where you can fit things in. Do you spend too much time doing X, instead of Y? Maybe it helps you realize you eat really healthy, but you also spend a lot of time in the kitchen making all of those meals. So maybe picking a day, or two days a week to cook larger amounts of food to food prep, so that way you don't feel like you're cooking and cleaning so much throughout the week.

Those are just some examples, it ranges for all of us of course on what we "waste" time on. You can also slowly build your way back up, or into a routine, and usually much smaller, slower changes are going to be the changes you can sustain over time. Good habit building, and habit forming, as well as working out, or anything, is a skill that a lot of people need to work on to develop.

Progress is progress. Unless you are literally a professional athlete, or very high level collegiate, or amateur/olympic level, or that goal is somewhat in sight, or even something you want to strive for, none of us need to be so hard on ourselves. Progress is progress. Doing 10 push ups a day, is better than doing none. Is it going to get you to 6% body fat, no. But we must walk before we run. If you want to learn to play the piano, you don't start off with trying to play Chopin, Mozart, Stravinsky, or Rachmaninov on day 1.

Be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself, sit down and take the time to look at your schedule, what you want for your goals, both small short term goals, and larger, longterm goals. And be willing to learn more, and make adjustments along the way as you learn.

 

[InCali]

I hear ya man, it can be hard, especially having to work so much. But if staying healthy, being in shape, working out, having some type of fitness is important to you, as it should be to everyone at least on some level. Then you just need to figure out a way to prioritize it. I'm not saying it's easy by any means, I've struggled to maintain any routine for more than a few months over the past 20 or so years.

There's no one right answer, or one right approach for everyone. Sometimes it's as simple as sitting down when you have time, hopefully on a weekend, and writing, typing, or visually mapping out your entire weekly schedule. This can help you figure out where you can fit things in. Do you spend too much time doing X, instead of Y? Maybe it helps you realize you eat really healthy, but you also spend a lot of time in the kitchen making all of those meals. So maybe picking a day, or two days a week to cook larger amounts of food to food prep, so that way you don't feel like you're cooking and cleaning so much throughout the week.

Those are just some examples, it ranges for all of us of course on what we "waste" time on. You can also slowly build your way back up, or into a routine, and usually much smaller, slower changes are going to be the changes you can sustain over time. Good habit building, and habit forming, as well as working out, or anything, is a skill that a lot of people need to work on to develop.

Progress is progress. Unless you are literally a professional athlete, or very high level collegiate, or amateur/olympic level, or that goal is somewhat in sight, or even something you want to strive for, none of us need to be so hard on ourselves. Progress is progress. Doing 10 push ups a day, is better than doing none. Is it going to get you to 6% body fat, no. But we must walk before we run. If you want to learn to play the piano, you don't start off with trying to play Chopin, Mozart, Stravinsky, or Rachmaninov on day 1.

Be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself, sit down and take the time to look at your schedule, what you want for your goals, both small short term goals, and larger, longterm goals. And be willing to learn more, and make adjustments along the way as you learn.

Yeah. I'm in a weird situation. My mother doesn't have a lot of money and basically can't take care of herself anymore, so I'm it. She's improving, but we're not comfortable leaving her alone just yet. I'm up at 4am and working until she gets up. Then it's medication, breakfast, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. When I was working onsite, I could get away from my desk, go downstairs, and workout. Someone else was around. Now I'm completely tethered to my phone and have to be available for network emergencies and general stuff. I'm actually thinking of seeing if there's a small, portable exercise machine of some sort I can put on the back deck just outside my "office" at my house (when I can get home) and my mom's. Then I could get away instead of posting on the Hype all day. LOL.