Diet and Fitness

Sport
2725

Donna bought it second hand locally off eBay, all good until this happened.
When I picked it up I obviously didn’t know about the extreme washer situation of trail of snot welding as it was covered in stylish eye candy plastic…
I only found these engineering hilarities after about an hour taking the thing apart which was supprisingly difficult!
Anyway, sent pictures to the the seller, and he’s refunded the full purchase price, so result :+1:.

I can probably get the welder at work to sort this out so it’s stronger than new.

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2726

:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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2727

I was feeling the need to strengthen my core so have taken to doing planks usually while Newsnight is on(!) Starting with elbow supported planks I gradually managed to build up to holding the position for 5 minutes

I read that there isn’t really much point in going for longer than that but instead have started doing side planks first on one elbow and then the other or, in the normal position, intermittently raising and holding 1 leg and then the other.

I managed to do 5 minutes in the press up position tonight. It’s been quite surprising to see how quickly you can train yourself not to shake while in the position, the most strain now seems to be where your shoulders take the weight.

I do feel better for doing it though

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2728

That’s really good, have you tried the boat pose and half boat? If you can hold half boat for 5 mins I will be seriously impressed.

2729

Planks are a good primer for core work, but you’re right they do have limited benefit.

When I’m back home I’ll suggest some good all round core workouts - 10 mins max. Also try to focus some that would work well with your rowing too, and try to avoid things that might aggravate your hip.

Yep that’s a decent feat. Note the primary muscles are your hip flexors, as long as you’ve got some basic ab strength. Longer holds are most likely to come from hip flexor strength/ endurance.

Guy if you try these and your hip hurts then hollow dish might be better and it targets abs not flexors.

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2730

Like the sound of that :+1:

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2731

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Nice day for the bike today - not too warm but hip still giving me gip tho’. Photo taken at the tip of the big spike which overlooks Faslane and towards the Arrochar Alps.

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2732

I’d also be interested in this.

During lockdown I’ve been trying to go for consistency and sustainability, focusing on getting on top of my knee/glute issue, rather than getting too tied up with training in the ‘optimum’ way :stuck_out_tongue:

Diet has been good and after the first couple of weeks I’ve restricted alcohol to a few drinks at the weekend

I’ve been doing the Joe Wicks PE at least 4 mornings a week- I know enough about what sets my knee off to adapt the exercises and I’ve been replacing some with e.g. the resistance band crab walks that the physio prescribed. I think the main benefits have probably come from doing squats and lunges daily- I’ve started doing some of the squats as KB goblet squats. My squat form has definitely improved.

It’s not something I would have considered before, but it seems to be building up a level of all round conditioning and knee is feeling better.

I’ve been doing this 10 min stretch routine at the end rather than doing JW’s stretches- it’s a bit more all-round, his stretching is a bit rushed and haphazard

I’ve been doing his recent ~5 min core ‘blasts’ at the end, but they’re very crunch-heavy and I thought that was a bit outdated, so I was thinking about finding a different core workout to replace this with.

I’ve been going out on the bike for a 15-20 mile blast a couple of times a week- distance is limited by the fact that I can only get out at 9.30/10pm and I can’t make it too late or it will fuck the sustainable part :stuck_out_tongue:

I’d like to get to the stage where I do a weighted (KB’s are all we have at home) workout maybe once a week, and longer rides at some point

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2733

All sounds good. Just remember though getting the diet right with a high enough level of protein and sleeping enough is a huge huge chunk of recovery.

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2734

yeah, this is why I’m riding as much as I am and not as much as I’d like to :stuck_out_tongue:

I found a really great 25 mile loop, but just those extra 5 miles pushed it over the edge and meant getting to bed too late

2735

Spot on.

The volume of exercise you can do should be governed by what you can recover from.

If you’re not recovered by your next workout, you have two options - 1 fix your recovery. 2. Reduce volume.

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2736

AB/ CORE WORKOUT

Okay as promised a short core workout designed to be less than 10 mins, something you can do every day or 3-4 times a week, and requires no equipment (but you can add load/resistance as you progress). I say no equipment but if you have a hard floor then a rug or yoga mat would be kinder on your knees etc.

The objective is all over core strength - back, abs, hips but with a cardio element that you can push as hard as you want!

I’ve deliberately avoided planks and traditional crunches, because planks are of very limited value and most people don’t exert enough effort on crunches to stimulate a benefit.

The idea is to do these in quick succession in a repeated circuit. You can either build up the number of circuits that you do, or if you can do 5-7 circuits then its then about time taken to complete. Progress slowly!

1 Mountain Climbers - mainly to get your blood pumping and warm you up.
(Works abs, aids shoulder stability but also warms up hip flexors for whats to come)

Do 20 full range movements, ie 10 per leg alternately

[Variation - pull knee towards opposite shoulder]

Now roll straight over onto your back with enough space to swing your legs from side to side

2.Window Wipers
(Upper and lower abs, lower back stability)

Do 10 full range movements - ie 5 each side alternately. See video for easier progression.

Now roll over and get onto all fours…

3. Bird dogs
(Ab stability, hip flexors, lower back and glutes)

Do 20 full range movements, ie 10 per side alternately.

Try to really push the heel back and slightly up and feel the flexion in lower back/ glutes.

Roll over and sit up…

4. Russian twists
(All over core, lower back and obliques)

Lots of progression with this including feet placement and then holding a load etc

Do 10 twists, 5 each side alternately

Stay where you are, final push of the circuit…

5. High boat to low boat
(Lower abs and lower back)

10 full range movements (progression might be lower reps or shorter range but 10 full is the goal)

How to start-

If you’re new to core training take it easy. Maybe try a round, reduce the reps and see how you feel the day after. If you have a current injury or chronic pain then please see a GP/ physio before starting.

If you’re struggling with stiffness then this might help strengthen things but a mobility stretch workout might be a better place to start. Both of those are good preventive insurance policies against back/ hip pain from sitting down too much.

If you’re reasonably active then I would start with three rounds and see how you feel. It will have a great transfer to running, cycling, rowing as well as dynamic sports like martial arts etc.

If it hurts, ie sharp pain then stop. If your muscles get sore/ tired and you’re out of breath - good, its working!

Let me know if you have any questions.

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2737

Thanks :+1:

2738

I really struggle with the wiper (even the legs bent variation)- it feels like it’s a flexibility issue, but I appreciate that what feels like flexibility can actually be a lack of strength or motor control- my squat form (bodyweight variants and light KB goblet) has improved markedly during lockdown and I think it’s as much learning the movement as anything else.

Should my shoulders be able to stay pressed into the ground through the full movement, or is it ok for the opposite side shoulder to lift a bit?

Any thoughts? Pointers?

2739

Any pain/ discomfort? Which part of the movement does this happen or you find difficult?

It will be more difficult initially to keep your shoulders in full contact but yes that is the aim.

A useful progression would be drawing figure of 8 with your feet together. That way you can do small ones and then expand the size as you get stronger at your own pace.

2740

No pain/discomfort- it more just feels like that part of my body won’t rotate independently. More so rotating to the left. Weirdly though, if I lie on my side and rotate my upper body, I can get into the ‘end’ position on the left side ok, but struggle more on the right side

2741

Ok- I’ll try that. I was looking into regressions earlier and saw bicycle crunches and lying leg raises mentioned?

Twisting to the left on the Russian twist is similarly difficult , i.e. no pain, just feels restricted- could there be something in common?

Mountain climber no problem. High boat/low boat only tried briefly- seems tough but doable- not totally sure about my form. Will work on that. Bird dog no problem- done quite a lot of this so I’m pretty confident form is good.

2742

Went out on the bike yesterday- feeling better on the bike than I have in a long time.

Knee and overall solidity on the bike felt really good. I was able to push myself and get the lungs burning without the weak links that have been bugging me for a while. Did notice one niggle (as opposed to lactic discomfort)- pushing up a steep hill (on the single speed so overgeared) I noticed discomfort in my lower back. I carried on and it persisted until I stopped at lights on the way back into town. Once I started up again the discomfort was gone. But- I notice it a bit today.

Weak link to work on, or just something that will work itself out with rest and increasing endurance?

I had a brief look yesterday and it sounded as though it could have just been compensation as leg muscles fatigued. KB swings were mentioned as something that might help.

2743

I reckon (without seeing you move so much caveat!) that you’ve possibly got some tightness in your flexors and maybe your obliques, which also might not be as strong as other areas of your core so they’re not happy when you have a load (your extended legs) at full extension.

So first advice, switch the wipers out for a bit. Also google hip flexor stretch and oblique mobility/ rehab - if you have no luck let me know and I can suggest something - gotta run and do something otherwise I’d find some links for you.

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2744

I thought the Joe Wicks workout today was particularly good