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This is a crazy bump...

I finally made it back into the gym after taking a year off to "reset" my shoulders and balance out.   I started having shoulder issues a little over a year ago and went and seen a doc.  He sent me to a PT guy who said my chest was gaining faster then my back and it was pulling my shoulders forward and out of place.  He told me to do more back exercises that focused on my Rhomboids and to lay off chest workouts for awhile.  I went ahead and followed his advice but continued to have issues.   I went back and seen him again and he sent me to a chiropractor to get adjusted.  After a few trips there and back to PT,  I was told to take an extended break from lifting so I could balance out.

The year off really hit me hard on the ego and the mid section.  I have been back for 2 weeks and have already lost 8 lbs. and feel WAY better.  

I started with Stronglifts and will continue with it until I stall out and will switch back to 5/3/1 and roll.  

 
Holidays always kill me, it's a 2 month stretch of crap eating and little working out.  So trying to void that stretch again.  Currently doing a low carb diet, not KETO because I hate most veggies.  Just trying to stay close to 50 a day, maybe 100 some days.  I prefer to lift over cardio.  Bench, curl and dumbells mostly.  Situps, squats and planks.  I like to run outside early in the morning, had a great routine last year so I hope I can get back on it again.  I was regularly doing 3 miles a day 4 days a week and felt awesome, but lost a lot of muscle mass.  There is no perfect answer, just diet to the best of your abilities and lift/run when you can.  That's where I'm at.

 
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Holidays always kill me, it's a 2 month stretch of crap eating and little working out.  So trying to void that stretch again.  Currently doing a low carb diet, not KETO because I hate most veggies.  Just trying to stay close to 50 a day, maybe 100 some days.  I prefer to lift over cardio.  Bench, curl and dumbells mostly.  Situps, squats and planks.  I like to run outside early in the morning, had a great routine last year so I hope I can get back on it again.  I was regularly doing 3 miles a day 4 days a week and felt awesome, but lost a lot of muscle mass.  There is no perfect answer, just diet to the best of your abilities and lift/run when you can.  That's where I'm at.
Good advice.

I wasn't much of a veggie eater until I met my wife and she roasted them in the oven. Also, the stores have started carrying more variety, better quality, and more local (shorter times harvest to table), which can all make a big difference. For example, carrots, brussel sprouts, and garlic from the grocery store are mediocre to poor, but the same things from the local farms are amazing. Good luck!

 
Getting back into working out regularly again, but keeping it simple to avoid burnout.

Doing stairs and hill runs for cardio and floor press, shoulder press, dips, and underhand barbell rows. The stairs are pretty rough right now so I'm not doing any other type of leg workout.

 
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Getting back into working out regularly again, but keeping it simple to avoid burnout.

Doing stairs and hill runs for cardio and floor press, shoulder press, dips, and underhand barbell rows. The stairs are pretty rough right now so I'm not doing any other type of leg workout.
Good for you!  Stairs and hills are a great (and free) way to workout.  If you wanted to integrate some air squats, that would probably be a-ok. 

 
Hit 25 off my peak weight ever today.  Probably haven't been this weight since 2011 or 2012. Pretty f#&%ing pumped about it.

Genuinely all I have been doing is running(mostly fast walking to start) as often as I get myself to the gym after work and very basic body weight exercises and a little bit with 15 lb dumbbells at home when I am bored.  I started struggling to get to 2 miles and now 3.5 felt normal today.

I don't want to minimize the work b/c I appreciate everyone needs different things to see results, but I cannot believe how much has melted away with relatively little lifestyle change.  I haven't changed my diet much at all(no keto or anything, still eat bread and pasta, still drink beer), not consistent at all run 5 days some weeks 2 days others and have never felt like I have really killed myself.  It is just encouraging that just moving makes such an impact.

I understand you get to a point of diminishing returns, but just having the habit of going to the gym and having the stamina to knock down a quick 5k feels like a great base to build off of. I appreciate the posts that I have read here though, it will help me going forward to shift to getting stronger now that I have approached a more reasonable weight and have better stamina.

I have no advice for meal plans or workout schedules, my advice would just be to start.  This kind of stuff was never my thing(and still really isn't, I am a huge novice still), but I like it a lot now and it gets easier every day.

 
I understand you get to a point of diminishing returns, but just having the habit of going to the gym and having the stamina to knock down a quick 5k feels like a great base to build off of. I appreciate the posts that I have read here though, it will help me going forward to shift to getting stronger now that I have approached a more reasonable weight and have better stamina.

I have no advice for meal plans or workout schedules, my advice would just be to start.  This kind of stuff was never my thing(and still really isn't, I am a huge novice still), but I like it a lot now and it gets easier every day.
That first real 'ah ha' moment when the results start to show up is euphoric, like a natural drug or high. It strengthens and motivates you in some pretty awesome ways. I had that about 3-4 weeks ago when I got back to being able to do 7:30 minute miles which, for awhile, had sagged into the 9 minute range. Once I hit that mark, I switched up to something I haven't really ever done before in my life, which is strength training.

My 'routine' is pretty varied which I love. The days are roughly the same in terms of their focus, but exercises often change week to week while still focusing on the same muscle groups. But, generally speaking, it's:

- Monday -> lower body

- Tuesday -> arms/upper body

- Wednesday -> functional training (mostly floor exercises like crawl holds, side gorillas, hostages, etc.)

- Thursday -> back & shoulders / upper body

- Friday -> core workouts 

- Saturday -> more floor exercises (slightly more strength-focused as it includes weights, kettle bells)

I'm primarily using the app Centr, which I started a thread about the other day. Although it costs $20/month (or $120/year), it provides a full meal plan, weekly workouts, healthy lifestyle content and daily meditation/sleep preparation routines. It also has a dedicated team of content creators who are responsible for providing fresh content each week and consulting with the app's trainers to determine what new workouts are coming.

 
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I'll do back/legs/biceps one day and everything else the other day.  

Leg day- sets- x3 calf raises x3 goblet squats x3 leg curls x3 walking lunges x3 crunches x3 bent over row, x3 pull downs, x3 cable curls x3 hammer curls, followed immediately by 15-60 minutes cardio.  

Chest day - x3 crunches, x3 push ups, x3 incline press x3 military or Arnold press, x3 lateral raise x3 pull downs followed by cardio.  

Game day - 12 oz curls x12 

 
I've been swimming laps three or four mornings per week this fall.  On Tuesday I forgot to bring my wet swim suit wrapped wrapped in a towel in from my truck to dry it out.  I didn't swim Wednesday morning.  My towel and swim suit were a solid ball of ice.  lol 

 
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I'm old.  My workouts reflect that, even though they're pretty close to the same routine I've been doing for decades.  Injuries are nearly always ready to happen much more than when younger;  but I'm hyper aware of that now so I am careful to warm up each muscle group for a long time at low weight for high reps while full range of motion slowly for several reps then normally.

Dreadmill .. er, treadmill every other day then leg lifts and leg curls.  On off days for that there's an arm day, a shoulder and back day, a chest and belly day.  The weight amounts max at 212 for bench, 45 for dumbell curls, etc.  Not much, but feels great, especially when done.  :D

 
Curious to see how others workouts and runs are going during this Corona fear?

For me, my running feels pretty close to having Corona [had it in February].  The mask seems to block about 30% of the air but when I hit below a 10:00 clip it feels more restricting [about 50%].   Today, I ran 9.3 miles at about a 10:30 clip.  I am shaking a bit and had to take about 15 minutes of clear breathing without the mask to recover.  

I don't really feel much or as affected during my weight workout other than just the normal uncomfortable and closterphobic feelings.

Others?

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I've been pretty fortunate that my mother-in-law has a gym built inside the business she owns - only a couple of us in the family actually use it and usually at different times. So, we haven't worn face masks since no one is around and we wipe down surfaces of equipment we use.

Are local gyms requiring masks to be worn at all times?

 
I've been pretty fortunate that my mother-in-law has a gym built inside the business she owns - only a couple of us in the family actually use it and usually at different times. So, we haven't worn face masks since no one is around and we wipe down surfaces of equipment we use.

Are local gyms requiring masks to be worn at all times?


@Enhance, that's great!  Good for you.

I'm in Dallas, specifically, around the DFW airport.  I'm at a Fitness Connection.  It is required to have a mask and gloves at all times ... even in the bathroom.  You also get your temperature taken.  If you are above 100 degrees you can't work out.  Machines are marked off so you can only use every other machine so it's about 8-10' between each machine.  You have to wipe down both before and after each use.  Most every day my mask will slip and expose either my nose or my mouth ... it is usually within a few minutes and someone will notify me of the rule being broken.  Like today, when I was panicky, I had to go into the bathroom area in a stall to breathe.  

It really sucks ... but I have fitness goals as well.

 
Kettle bells, a bike, running shoes, a pull-up bar and lots of pushups.   I don't have to worry about COVID much if I stick to running/biking through the neighborhood and doing mostly time under tension reps with the bells.  You can get really creative with those things.  I have 50 pound one I carry up and down the stairs between sets.  I still have to go into the community very regularly but at least I get to stay out of the gym.

I'm still trying to do one pull-up haha.  Palm out flexed arm hangs for now.  Cutting out processed foods, sugar and adding a vitamin D supplement have made a pretty big difference in how I feel.

 
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