Diet and Fitness

Bodyweight or free weights?

Can’t go wrong with squats and deadlifts to build up your base and jolt your metabolism.

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Free weights at the minute, I some dumbbells which I can vary the weight of, i’ll practice without first I think!

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Nice complex (rather than compound) :nerd_face:

Not wishing to make it more complicated but I the the first move should be a single press up, then followed by the one arm row, then the squat to overhead press. That way you hit your chest too (as well as upper back, biceps, legs and core, shoulders and triceps.

Focus on keeping your abs squeezed tight but not let your shoulders roll forwards throughout.

Don’t overdo it in the first session! Consistency is everything.

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Thanks for the advice, I’m new to this kinda thing, there is so much info out there!!

I’m not totally off the horse, since I do 40-60 miles of commuting by bike consistently each week. Still frustrating, since I felt like I was making good progress. Been eating more rubbish which I usually do when under the weather

First thing to do is break your habits and get active without making yourself too sore and preventing you from regular exercise. Over enthusiasm is deadly in the first few weeks.

Once you’ve got moving and some conditioning starts to happen then think about what your goals might be. It’s much easier to work out what to do and make choices if you know where you want to be.

Also get on the scales and take a photo now and then again in a months time - you might be surprised how much of a difference you can make in these first steps.

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Biking? Pah! That’s for long limbed skinny freaks with lots of slow twitch fibres, or practiced by fat biffers who think that riding a bike means they can still eat cake and drink beer and lose weight :smile:

Hope you’re feeling better now and ready to step things back up? :thumbsup:

I love cycling, but my goal has always been all round fitness- I think the first step will be getting back into going bouldering once a week, on top of the commute.

Not even slightly feeling better tbh

Rule 5.

If he’s got a 28" waist then by the looks of those boots he’s a size 28 foot too!

I used to live in the gym to keep my tiny frame capable of playing the standard of rugby I was managing… some of my county team mates went on to get a full England cap, and I was doomed to be a Neil Back v1 before his sudden weight and muscle gain (…).

It’s all about routine and perseverance. Soon becomes habit…

I used to smash two muscle groups, changing over three times a week similar to above.
Always finished with a swim and sauna to wash out the lactic, which stopped me driving home with concrete arms and feeling painfully raw.

The issue for me was I couldn’t adapt my diet to really make a difference, as you start to need a meal every ten minutes and you can constantly smell the rancid farts that whey powder produce.

I stick to cycling up mountains now, but I think the gym may beckon as I need a tone up. Trouble is, my shoulder shafted and caused me to stop once… afraid it won’t last if I start again.

Bamboo Barbell could possibly help with that, or a ShouldeRok.

Not a trivial consideration. After a lifetime of my only exercise being cycling to work and having sex (separate activities) I set about distance walking a year or so ago. I worked quite hard at it. Maybe too hard. By the time I was fit enough to do the Lyke Wake Walk both my ankles and one of my knees were already degrading and I was getting gait-related symptoms in my feet. At least one of these, if it turns out to be Morton’s neuroma, is likely to be irreversible. My lost toenails are growing back but they’re less than perfect as, apparently, is usually the case. I haven’t walked really hard for five months now but my ankles are still not right and my knee still twinges occasionally - I have an appointment at the musculo-skeletal clinic in early December. On balance I think all this was a price worth paying. I never planned to arrive at my deathbed in perfect condition. But it does support the theory that sooner or later we’ll all reach an age where damage never completely heals.

VB

@SAP7
Shoulder mobility and strengthening the stabilising muscles will help (as well as strict technical form on bench press and overhead press).

I’d start off by searching on YouTube for Kelly Starrett author of Supple Leopard and shoulder mobility. Get yourself a lacrosse ball and some lower level resistance bands and you’re set.

Protein intake can cause lots of bro-science arguments but you should be able to get what you need without supplements. If you eat meat and fish then it should be straightforward (I’m a veggie so I do use whey straight after a workout and to hit the levels you need). A lot also depends on the intensity and frequency of your training too.

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GVT pain update: Fuck me my triceps and traps feel like hot bricks this morning, where the hell did that come from?

Hmmmm, that didn’t go well this morning… I need to get my thing together!

What happened? (or maybe didn’t as the case may be?)

It didn’t happen, forgot to set my alarm (and so did Donna Wifey) so we overlaid, even the kids didn’t wake us up!

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