thread of getting sw0le

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

All good. Not prickly at all. I’m not proud of why I asked - I’m in p good shape these days, running ultras and doing body weight strength work and yoga but have never done any martial arts and, full disclosure, I have someone in my life who has doing me very wrong for at least a year and I have occasional dark urges to get violent with that person. I have never ever engaged in such behavior. This person completely deserves it but more metta meditation is probably a better way to deal with this! I’m going to go do that right now.

The mental and social aspects of martial arts training make it a lot more fun for me than solitary running or lifting. There are always new demands on attention, judgment, and communication skills.

If you stay with it, you can continue to make progress for a long time. I'm in my 60s, my physician is in his 50s, we've both been active in different martial arts for decades. I asked him yesterday if he believes they are good for longevity. He said, "I think so, as long as you don't get hit in the head too much."

The advice I give to people who are considering training is to watch a club practice and see how it feels. If everyone is working diligently, there are smiles and laughter, and more experienced people are patient with less skillful people, all is well. If some people are slacking off and being ignored, while others are bullying or being bullied, go somewhere else.

Putting yourself in situations where you're trusting training partners not to injure you can teach you a lot about fear and aggression. Over the long term that kind of practice tends to make people more empathetic and less violent.

ah thanks for your input brad! i noticed something about the way some of the people in the class looked at me - with open, gentle, penetrating, encouraging eyes. it felt good! i was back at my gym this morning, and after the experience yesterday, i'm starting to really see why i get so annoyed at my gym. there are a lot of image-oriented people there. i am a little image-oriented myself. but not super proud of it, and being around just that day in and day out gets alienating and depressing.

Putting yourself in situations where you're trusting training partners not to injure you can teach you a lot about fear and aggression. Over the long term that kind of practice tends to make people more empathetic and less violent.

I was picking up on this a little bit! It rings true for me. I feel like not exercising aggressive energy in any way would ultimately make me more dangerous to myself and others.

Been switching it up and going to the gym more in the late afternoons and early evenings, which means I get the after school crowd, which I thought would annoy me, but is instead wonderful— makes me want to be a climbing coach tbh!

I do that at the fitness center where I work more lately and what I’ve noticed are a surprising number of inconsiderate people taking the entire space as if it’s still their private office and holding Zoom/Teams calls loudly while using the equipment.

Just like a real office

tell me about creatine

my 15-y-o is obsessed with getting swole and he says it’s fine. lotta information out there but not sure what to trust. what say the sw0lemind of ilx

Tracer, it’s more about the amount of creatine, and a lot of the packaging and stuff is deceptive.

For a first month, 5g a day is optimal.

Ever after, 2g a day is optimal.

Loading and unloading cycles with creatine have been proven to not help with strength or building muscle. It is better to maintain a small, 1-2g/day schedule than to load heavy and unload.

Creatine is fine but you have to make sure one of his friends doesn’t introduce him to the Liver King.

There's vague warnings of creatine possibly exacerbating hair loss but creatine is generally regarded as about as good as it gets in terms of effective and safe supplements, and it's cheap, with potential benefits in reducing the ravages of alzheimers as well.

At the same time, about 25% of people don't respond to it, possibly because they're already getting sufficient amounts through their diet? It might be more worth taking for a vegetarian/vegan adult than a kid in the throes of adolescence who is already plowing through a rotisserie chicken per day (or various organ meats if he's already been indoctrinated into the Liver Kingdom).

table otm