thread of getting sw0le

Since the climbing thread is pretty quiet, going to post here.

I am projecting V8-V9 boulders in my gym, which tends to set more "traditional" style (aka training for outdoor climbing) than "comp" style (aka its own sport, more akin to American Ninja/gymnastics). I am stronger than I've ever been. Can do about 10 one-arm pull-ups on each side, and really rely on doing frenchies and ladders on tiny crimps to keep my fingers strong.

Also bicycling ~40-50 miles per week for cardio/aerobic exercise.

I never thought it would happen, but I'm a jock!

I know climbing can be obnoxious but I really think a lot of people would like it, particularly if they don't like team sports and aren't into traditional "gyms" but want to get strong and feel more embodied.

I think people who aren't "jocks" miss out on a lot of things they'd really enjoy because they've internalized all kinds of ideas about the types of people who do and don't do those things, whether they be lifting, climbing, whatever

xp high five! i love being a jock tbh. climbing always sounded awesome and great to me. i've tried it a few times but i'm a heavy ass bitch haha. i like weight training for mass too much. maybe i'll get back into it. sometimes i'm left a little dissatisfied with my weight training, it feels a little one dimensional compared to some other things. i want to try a contact sport (jiu jitsu) but i'm worried it will be too much money atm.

I'm an adult jock at this point, def nowhere near as accomplished in anything as most other people but I spend a lot of time doing physical activities and don't really have the "I gotta be the best" thing hanging over my head that I did when I was younger, so everything's way more fun

ugh it's so much more fun when you can just move around and have fun and stuff. make movement fun again is my motto.

exercise because you can not because you need to

also sometimes it's a good realization to have, 'i don't know what i'm doing,' because it can lead you to 'well what am i doing' and 'what do i want to do?' i feel like i don't know what i'm doing pretty regularly, i think it's important to pay attention to that. i've moved from 'getting through this exercise pretending to myself i know what i'm doing will make me feel what i want to feel' to 'i get to express how i feel through how i do this movement, the weight, me handling it, how i engage to make it happen, the little flourishes that make each rep a little different, etc."

yeah, that’s what’s been really great about climbing in the past year or so for me— i’ve really come to understand and work on my strengths and weaknesses, as well as have a sort of preferred “style” of climbing. i’m much more in tune with what/why/how i’m doing what i’m doing physically, even outside of the gym.

I think maturity brings a certain amount of humility or willingness to feel humbled/embarrassed by something, which at least for me has helped a lot in breaking through the defenses that prevented me from improving previously. E.g. in my early 30s when I took up basketball again for a while, I realized I had to just be willing to do dumb, basic shit in the gym and have other people see me do it - shoot really basic layups over and over again, shoot from very close over and over again just to work on form, very simple dribble drills, etc. Being able to do that while knowing everyone in the entire Y could see me really helped me psychologically and got a barrier out of the way, and got me to the point where I could actually run in a pickup game and contribute and not look like I didn't belong.

Same thing is true now for swimming. Like, yeah, I am in a swim class. That sounds like something for babies in my mind. I had to get past that idea in my head. And it's me and two middle-aged moms. But I finally am fixing my fucked up crawl form and after a few lessons can actually swim entire laps for the first time, and the feeling of really being able to move quickly and efficiently in the water, and to be able to keep going without just getting tired right away, is a small thrill.

Applies in lifting too - I'm almost 44, and if I get stuck repeating the same modest amount of squat weight week after week while just focusing on micro-adjusting my form, that's fine. I'm not there to impress anyone. I'm not looking to max out for ego.

https://i.imgur.com/arYnCTH.jpg

Trying to work out every day these days. Just some barbell bullshit

wtg but give your muscles time to rest!

Okay, so real talk. Im doing 200 reps a day just with 15lb dumbells but I also do 30 minutes on a treadmill which i haaaaaaate. So I know the wellness industry is 99% scam but all I hear these days is 'Don't do cardio! You wont lose weight or get fit! Its a waste of time'. I want this to be true but I mean its got to be helping my cardiovascular system, right? Or do the weights cover that?

Thoughts?

Cardio burns more calories than strength training, so it can help with weight loss. It definitely improves heart health and blood pressure, and it's also good conditioning for the kinds of physical activities most people do in daily life (walking around, shopping, housework, dealing with kids or pets, w/e).

Weight training has many health benefits, but it's not going to do a lot for your cardiovascular system (unless you do long, continuous sessions with light weights, which is really another form of cardio).

How much cardio helps with weight loss depends mostly on diet and how methodical you are about keeping calories consumed lower than calories burned. A fitness tracker helps a lot.

I couldn't spend much time on a treadmill, too boring. But it's not hard to find other ways to do cardio. Any activity that keeps you moving and keeps your heart rate elevated will have cardio benefits. It's great if you can find something that involves different kinds of movement because that uses more muscles and is less boring (which makes it easier to work for longer periods of time).

tl;dr cardio is good but so are weights

cardio is good because what if you need to run away from something or ride a bike

you can just practice running or biking

I propose a double-blind longitudinal study whether the benefits of cardio outweigh how boring treadmills are.
I am surprised and bummed dance dance revolution hasn't overtaken gyms like soulcycle did.

I was still doing the wii 'Just Dance' up until about a year go! it is a lot more fun. Treadmills are just depressing.

If i could Id swim laps all year round but thats not possible where i live. Even daily is difficult because I use public pools and it all depends on how crowded they are.

And xp to Brad my blood pressure is shit so i guess cardio it is :(

fwiw: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/26/well/blood-pressure-workout-wall-squat.html

xp other things being equal, 30 minutes of dancing is better exercise than 30 minutes on a treadmill, as well as being more fun

I used to think I was getting more benefit from jogging than from less painful forms of sustained movement until I started comparing heart rate data and realized that just because I perceive an activity as lower exertion doesn't mean it can't make my heart work harder than an activity I perceive as higher exertion ... doing something that is fun, interesting, or useful is always easier for me than doing something that is boring, repetitive, or dehumanizing, even when the fun activity is pushing my heart rate significantly higher

also, I will tend to do an enjoyable activity more often and for longer periods than an activity I hate, so it's an easier way to increase total training volume

Walking about five miles a day is the best pandemic habit I picked up.

thanks, mh!

np!

I've done an entire two wall squats since reading about the study :D

Just tried my first wall squat ever. Not easy

xp lol

Wall squats are terrible but not as bad as pullups

I love pull-ups, planks, and wall squats. During the early pandemic days, I would alternate between 20 mile bike ride days and 100 pull-up days.

i used to do 101 pullups and ride 21 miles. nbd just saying

I'm not in a "getting swole" mode. My exercise this year consists mostly of lap swimming mixed with occasional kayaking. But I just wanted to mention that, regardless of how regularly I have lifted over the years, I have never been able to do a single pull-up.

Pull-ups are super hard. Do push-ups instead! Much more within reach imo.

i used to do 101 pullups and ride 21 miles. nbd just saying

like if we’re talking about “getting swole” and cardio vs isometric workouts and etc, then reps and mileage come into play. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

ugh

just teasin tabes

i have never heard of anyone doing 100 pullups a day before now. respect. i max out at 9-10 and then i try to do another two sets but i leave it there

dips also seem impossible at first but you can do them if you persevere at sucking for awhile

table's lats are massive

I can do about 1400 sit-ups three times a week. More or less the same with curls.

i used to do 101 pullups and ride 21 miles. nbd just saying

― Tracer Hand, Thursday, September 7, 2023 4:00 AM (five hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

you wirey-ass mf'er

all good Tracer.

fwiw except for a cumulative 2.5 year period where it wasn’t the case (due to location, cancer, or pandemic), i have been climbing ~3 times/week since 2011, and usually bicycling an average of 50 miles/week during that same period.

part of this is vanity, yea, but a bigger part of it is just that i enjoy these activities, and even enjoy the training parts.

carne asada, i went climbing a friend who is newer to the sport a month ago, and she noted, “your lats are just massive” lol

hi hi!
love the weights

lately i've been into swinging plates around a little bit, like the 5 lb ones on the peg up high, doing a full arm extension exploring my shoulder rotation with the resistance. this is just when i'm loading / unloading weight on the barbell. also kinda fun when you're putting weights back to just slap em on there. so into efficient plate movements haha. going to preach AGAIN about diaphragm breathing / ujjayi breath. it's been transformative for me. also kicks and leg swings! i never did them, now i'm doing them and my hips are much more spacious and buttery.

think of how much moving heavy stuff around you do in order to move heavy stuff around, might as well make em both cool experiences.

anyone else into handstands? mine's at about 10 seconds freestanding rn. i'm actually getting better at them which is pretty satisfying.

dang respect

would try

I spent over 60 min on the treadmill this morning (before weights) and wore a new pair of Adidas slip-ons (not slides - think vans but way stretchier and cushioned - no laces). Man, was that a bad idea. My ankles hurt the entire time and now they are swollen.

Still, can't argue with a 500-calorie deficit before 8 a.m.

ouch. i'm inside on machines for cardio until my plantar fasciitis heals. i'm pretty bummed i can't run this fall, the weather is glorious right now. i need to suck it up and do some hikes instead. machines kinda stink but i'm trying to get into it. right now i'm doing rows 11 minutes, stairs 11 minutes, air bike 11 minutes. i tried swimming once but 1) i really can't swim and 2) i really don't like chlorinated water.

PF sucks

wtg SS!! get some running shoes! they don’t have to be pricey.

Thanks, Tracer! I actually went to my doc for a couple of things and also showed him my workout history on my Apple watch and he kind of laughed and said 'You can't lose weight with cardio!' The upside is that my blood pressure was way down so I guess it's worth it for that if nothing else.

I do have a pair of running shoes (Adidas too because I'm a sucker for Adidas). They work much better.

Sorry you can't run, Map!

thanks :). it's honestly been good to take a break.

It is Squatober, which is a nice bit of free programing from Sorinex (as is Deadcember) - https://www.instagram.com/sorinex_squatober/?hl=en

Only on day 2 and I am getting a reminder of how a month of squats feels. Fortunate that it is shorts weather.