thread of getting sw0le

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.

i really like this guy's stuff. the hips and shoulders exercises pinned at the top are legit ime. i dropped pigeon poses and couch stretches and i'm happy about it.

I work out with a personal trainer but have had some issues with them, mostly regarding injuries. I got sciatica originally from doing a lunge + dumb bell swing with them, which has flared up again recently (albeit this time it's at least partly my fault), but they tried to get me to do that same exercise since then and I've had to pipe up and say that I don't feel safe doing that. I've also been been dealing with golfer's elbow for what feels like months now, and our discussions about it have bugged me. One of their cues is to grip extremely hard whenever possible, which for tendonitis is exactly the wrong approach, right? I tried pushing back and at most they said that hard grips are a way to *prevent* tendonitis, which still doesn't sound right.

All this is to ask if it's time I tried to find someone else? I always dread these situations.

i think trust is a pretty non-negotiable condition for a personal trainer

like if you think they gave you sciatica and they’re wrong about tendonitis i’m not sure what sign you’re looking for to move on

Then I guess my question is if I'm right about my tendonitis assessment?

I think if you’re doing something that’s actively hurting you on their recommendation and they double down, then they are either not listening or are wrong. Both are red flags

yeah Leee i got no idea but it sounds like the relaysh is no bueno

i agree with the above but as far as the golfers elbow goes this thing has helped me with two gnarly and protracted bouts in the last 10 years: https://www.theraband.com/products/flexbar

i went to a brazilian jiu jitsu class today, the first time i have done any wrestling / grappling or martial art in my life. i basically have no instinct for moving aggressively against another person, so it was interesting and kind of funny to break that ice at 41. i ended up enjoying it, there's a pretty undeniable rush involved, and i'm letting myself pay for a 10 class pass. and a uniform i guess.

Curious: do you think a class like that would actually help you learn to fight someone irl? Asking for a friend, of course.

maybe? i have no idea tbh. i mean it is kind of fighting someone irl already, but with an off switch. where does grappling even happen irl? i'm curious why you ask that question.

the more i reflect on that first class, the more i want to keep going. there was something undeniably great about the experience. i felt different the rest of the day. it was activating in ways i've never felt before. just one class and like maybe 2 minutes total of rolling, all of it me clenched up like a mannequin and going straight into being immobilized lol. nb i have never been physically aggressive in my life, never played a sport growing up, etc. i see why people, i should say men, but women too of course, get into it. there's a t spike. so i mean it isn't fucking fight club or anything, it's a sport, it seems like a fairly safe sport especially for a martial art, especially considering the casual workout-focused 9-to-5 group of adults who were at this place. there also seems to be a lot of mindfulness and mechanical awareness. people call it physical chess or whatever.

wow i didn't mean to come off so prickly there tobo, that was meant to be a much friendlier response, sorry about that.

i have to admit i’ve been interested in trying “old school karate” - which is about dealing w realistic fighting situations, rather than preparing you for competitions - but unfortunately the guy moved to oxford -

https://www.oldschoolkarate.co.uk/about-us