Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Yay! My best session to date with 64,770kg lifted: 20,770kg upper body, 14,100kg core/trunk and 29,900kg lower body/legs. I was hoping to crack the 1,000 calories burnt but got close at 961 so the 1k calories is doable at some point.

I am so pleased I took people's advice to start working the legs, so thanks guys - you know who you are. As you know I was a bit nervous about the knees but building up the weights slowly has indeed paid off. I gave the leg sled a good go today, doing two sets of 30 at 80kg each time, and once I even managed 4 sets of 30 reps one after the other, with a 10-second break between them. Lungs and stamina were great throughout the session, which lasted 2 hours.

As Surfermom says, I was very hungry after my last workout and after this one I was starving even though I'd had a decent breakfast. I trained through lunch so I have had a nice evening meal to set me up for tomorrow. I'll rest up tomorrow, apart from walking to loosen muscles up, then back to the gym on Wednesday.

Good to see OGF back in the forum, and well done Surfermom and Floydy. I wish I could do the weights you do with your legs, Floydy. One day eh... in my dreams.

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

It's good to hear from you, OGF! I doubt that any of us are too surprised that you found more than one way to get some exercise. It seems that my cruise ship has a similar layout with a dedicated running track on the upper deck. I definitely understand why you would want the sense of accomplishment of running on your birthday; 5 miles on your 69th! Yay! Btw, There is an unforgivably late message from me on your birthday thread.

Floydy, any short visit to the gym is recuperative - so good for you! I don't know about you, but I can feel the stress pouring out of me on days that I say the heck with what's going on in life and leave and it all behind for a few miles. Make sure you keep going at it, Floydy. Exercise in which you push your body is by far the best medication there is.

It was a roasty, toasty day out there with five miles of effort, but it felt great to finish, and I've added pushups and abdominal work, along with step aerobics. I am not much of a creature of habit, but it just occurred to me that I have been doing this form of exercise since 1990. Yikes, I am old! .

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Tachyon, I have no idea why your post didn't come up in my first read, but that's a great report all around! I have a theory, that I've mentioned here before that I think that strengthening leg muscles and weight bearing exercise actually reduces the risk of knee injury when doing the exercise properly. Superbly done!

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Thanks Suzie. I'll always train in some way, it just gives way durung the summertime a little as I need to make the most of the outdoors in the little daylight I see.
I do catch up with my workouts eventually though and my current routines are designed as a kind of 'less is more' strategy. It appars to be working

Well done on your extra bit of gym work too yesterday.....since 1990! You're not old, I've been doing that madness since the early 80's. To my etetnal amazement!

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

I'm not just saying this lightly Tachyon but your workouts are looking quite awesome. Isn't it amazing how soon you can retrain and subsequently regain some long long fitness again? It's known 'in the trade' as "muscle memory". They lay dormant for years but begin again training and those sinews and muscles will grow back, often bigger and stronger than in the past too. Trust me, it works like that and you are proof!

As Suzie mentions above, training the legs is essential for core, balance and overall strength support for most of our joints.
The sled press is one of the best exercises to strengthen the knees and also the lower back. I swear by it and my recent knee issues are all but eradicated using this apparatus.
If you want a superb routine using the sled, why not try the 'up-down the stack' method I did on Sunday?
Start light with 20 reps and add 5-10 kgs each set until you reach your maximum, doing anout 6-8 reps, then go back down the scale again. This really pumps up the legs and I used to do 20+ sets on this when I was bodybuilding, hitting the max of 250kgs!
Nowadays that is only possible on the incline press, as I'll be doing later today.
Adapt this routine to other stack-based exercises mate and your strength will rocket up!

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

An unscheduled event today because I was due to go with my wife to the gyno clinic but she wanted to be on her own, so an earlier blast on the legs than anticipated. Hot on the heels of my previous workout for the legs (Sunday) and I was suitably refreshed for this, taking advantage of a spare and carefree afternoon for a change.
I definitely made the most of it, powering up and down the stack machines, volume being the key goal today. Before that apparatus though, an absolutely mammoth no-holds barred 25 minutes on the incline press pushing out the quads to the max like the olden days!

Tuesday 16 July 2019: Legs. 1hr. 5mins.
(All weights in kgs)


Incline press:
20x150, 15x200 +3, 10x250 +3, 6x300 +3, 4x300 +2, 3x350
*Hitting 350kgs again was something of a long lost goal and I was a little wary of going for it after so long. But the weight was pushed for four slow, controlled reps, my outer thighs stretched to the limit and pumped up to the extreme. I’m afraid that sometimes there is no getting away from my past and to still be able to shift weight like this in my mid-50s is something I am quite pleased about.

The only for it was to do an extra ‘paused’ set too:
20x120 – pause – 15x120 – 10x120 +2, +2
15x100 ½-way fast reps

Extensions (up-down):
30x30, 25x40, 20x50, 16x60, 14x70, 13x80, 10x90
8x100 +1, 10x60 +2
25x35 ½-way ‘bounce’ reps

Calf press (using sled machine, pushing with toes at the bottom of the footplate):
25x100, 20x120 +3, 15x140 +3, 12x160 +3, 20x100
*Pausing for a second on every rep, I felt every sinew in my calf muscles working.

Lying ham curl (prone position):
20x20 +5, 15x25 +3, 10x32.5, 5x40, 4x47.5
*Hitting almost 50kgs on this is the heaviest I’ve gone for years. The work on the seated ham curl on Sunday made a big difference to my hamstring strength today.

Adductor:
25x50, 20x55, 12x60

Abductor:
25x50, 20x55, 12x60

A few ab crunches to end with:
20x30, 20x35, 15x40, 15x45, 10x50, 25x25

My next session will be an upper body workout on Thursday.
Thanks for reading

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Awesome stuff Floydy - I can only boggle at those weights! As I mentioned, I can do 80kg on the sled but I'm sticking with that for now because I still get twinges in my right knee. Abductor and Adductor I am at 30 to 35kg for now but like the sled I do reps of 30 at a time. I'll definitely give that routine you suggested a tryout, probably tomorrow.

I have noticed this paying off today, because I went down some stairs in town and realised I was going down them normally and hadn't instinctively reached for the handrail to help me.

I can recall, late last year, I had to go down steps crab-wise, one step at a time, and using both hands on the handrail to steady myself because of severe pain and muscle wastage. The Methotrexate is no doubt a contributing factor, because the pain levels have dropped, but I think the extra muscle is the main factor. I would certainly recommend anyone with dodgy legs to have a word with their doctor and seeing if they will OK some leg work. Stronger muscles do indeed help balance and mobility, as Surfermom said, and I'm positive that working the joints sensibly has helped to reduce pain levels.

On a sort of side note, I also think that the leg workouts help with circulation to the feet, which I pay attention to because of diabetes. With blood pumping through the leg muscles I'm sure it must help when it goes around the feet and back up the legs, so to speak.

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Tachyon, anybody who exercises seriously like we do will tell you that it isn't all about lifting very weights to retain or indeed recover strength. That's just one area of keeping oneself fit and while it obviously builds muscle and pays a great part in supporting the everyday pressure we put on our joints and ligaments, this can just as practically be done using light weights and even non-weight bearing exercises such as walking lunges and push-ups - i.e. body weight exercises.

You are doing the very finest method to maintain your strength by gradually increasing reps and weight in conjunction with your physical capabilities. You are sensible and cautious and because of this you are not injuring yourself. In turn you are seeing some excellent results in eradicating the pain you would normally be suffering if you wasn't doing much exercise.

I really do take my hat off to you mate because as you say a few months ago, probably because you didn't know about this thread even, you were in a state of quandary knowing how to improve your health and fitness so that you could lead a normal life once more. Well buddy, you found the answer and that answer was persevering with the slow process of a little at a time, not pushing it and this is where you are today - far more fitter than you ever though you would be again and here's the best bit...you've enjoyed doing it!

Well done pal, I take my hat off to you

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Tachyon, you probably just wrote the most valuable post on this thread and forum for the year!

It's pure joy to read about how your mobility has improved in the last year. I think that too many of us accept illness and aging as an inevitable down spiral, in which improvements in flexibility, strength, endurance, and mobility are all but impossible. You have blown that stereotype away!

That peripheral comment is anything but. I've read more than one study that speaks to the improvement of vascular function in diabetes - and it cuts inflammation too!

I hope you don't mind that you are now my example when conversing with people on the subject. The point is that your progress isn't a miracle or anything extraordinary but - even more importantly - the outcome of dedicated work from someone just like the rest of us. I am so pleased that you are enjoying the fruits of your labor!

As for me I had a forced day off yesterday but am back in the saddle again today. If I hadn't been behaving myself, I would guess that I was hanging around the gates of Hades as the heat index is already soaring above 38ºC at nine this morning. No matter, I am off for a cool surf and hopefully not-so-melting run later on.

Let's go!

Re: Post your daily exercise routine

Thank you very much, Floydy and Surfermom, I appreciate the comments especially as I know you work so hard yourselves. Your encouragement means a lot! I'm very flattered to be used as an example, Surfermom, so I definitely don't mind at all.

As it happens, I tried the routine Floydy suggested to me the other day, which he called "up-down the stack", namely going up and down the weights to develop more muscle. I tried it out on the chest press and the pec dec, doing sets of 10 and adding/subtracting 5kg as I went up and down the stack of weight and I really felt the difference. I thoroughly enjoyed it, too! I shall do that on various muscle groups from now on. I also had a breakthrough in the leg sled, when I had a stern word with myself about having the 80kg mental block, to to speak...

Leg Curl: 60x30kg
Leg Extension: 20x25kg, 30 x30kg
Chest Press: 10x30kg, 20x35kg, 100x40kg, 30x45kg, 45x50kg (I did some sets of 20@40kg before trying the stack work)
Crunch: 180x50kg
Back Extension: 30x57.5kg, 90x60kg, 90x65kg (Max weight on that machine)
Hip Abduction: 150x40kg
Hip Adduction 150x30kg
Shoulder Press: 15x15kg (left shoulder always stiff, sadly)
Pulldown: 40x50kg
Leg Sled: 120x80kg, 180x100kg, 60x120kg (can't believe it!)
Pec Deck: 30x30kg, 30x35kg, 35x40kg, 50x45kg, 30x50kg
Low Row: 40x50kg

I am stunned I was able to add 50% more weight to the leg sled and was leading towards trying a bit more, but I thought that, for now, I'd quit while I was ahead and see what the legs are like tomorrow, lol. I think it was me subconsciously playing safe with my knees when the work I had done over the last 2 or 3 months had made me more capable than I thought. I'll try and get the stack work up to sets of 20 over the next few sessions. The heart and lungs took it really well, which was nice.

Because of the stack work and the extra weight on the leg sled I scored 96/100 for effort, burnt 1401 calories (can't forget the odd 1, lol) and shifted 90,880kg in the session. Lower body/legs comprised 53% of the workout, 25% trunk/core and 22% upper body. I'm definitely ready for bed now.

Good luck with your training, lads and lasses!