Getting into shape

[Jocephus]

[IMADreamer]

I got myself some dumbells with adjustable weights this week. I've been at it four days and I remember why I love weight lifting so much. I love that point where your arms say you don't have one more but your mind is saying ONE [expletive] MORE YOU [expletive]! Then you do it. I like walking around the rest of the day just feeling bigger. I'm hoping a little more focus on lifting while doing some cardio helps keep me going long term.

what kind did you get?

I got something like these.
http://www.amazon.com/MTN-Gearsmith-Adj ... B00C3RPWU6

so youve been working out with them for what? a couple weeks now? how are you liking them so far?

I wanna get some adjustable dumbbells but im not sure i wanna drop $600 on the fancy bowflex ones.

I love them, wish I'd had done it a while ago. I was surprised how many exercises I could do with them. I've even used them for doing squats and things of that nature.

[jim]

I have to gripe. People are so [expletive] addicted to techno gadgets it's ridiculous. About two months ago I noticed all of these really nice TV's going up all over the place in our health club. We have TV's, I thought we had plenty, but hey - they want to put more up no problem. Turns out they weren't for watching ESPN, they were for these damn heart rate monitors called MyZone:

http://www.myzone.org/

I do a spin class ~2x per week, and those classes have been destroyed by these [expletive] things. First off, almost nobody is buying them, but the instructors all got one and were obviously told to pitch them in their classes. Ok, no problem, for a couple of weeks if you want to go on about this that's fine. Unfortunately my Friday morning instructor is addicted to it - can't take her [expletive] eyes off her reading - can't stop talking about it - the entire [expletive] class. Up until these things came out, not one time did I hear her complain about how she felt, what kind of sleep she got the night before, or any other bull [expletive]. Now that we can see her heart rate on the screen - along with "BACON" and "CRMCHZ" who apparently are on the floor every Friday morning as well - it's all we hear. "Oh I'm still in my rest zone but breathing really hard because I ... uh I ... uh I DIDN'T GET SLEEP LAST NIGHT! Yeah, that's the ticket, I didn't get sleep".

On and on and on and on.

I've always suspected her monitor is just wrong, because she really is in good shape and she's really panting sometimes and her reading is really low. Well today she finally figured that out - "Hey, this can't be right. My pickup must not be working. I am working really hard it says 90. No way!". The whole entire [expletive] class was her talking about this.

Hey idiot: Put your [expletive] index and middle finger to your jugular vein and count for 10 seconds and multiply by 6. Jesus Christ. If they don't match, take the piece of [expletive] electronic thing back and get a new one. Or better yet, throw the [expletive] thing away. Completely a slave to this stuff, the thought never crossed her mind to do that.

I actually do watch my hear rate when I work out, and have been using that exact method of taking my own pulse and calculating it. It works great. Cheap too. And no annoying strap to put on. It's not a perfect reading, I maybe getting 144 when it's really 142, but close enough.

Downside: I don't get my heart rate data sent up to the cloud where I can share it on Facebook and earn MyZone points.

Thanks for listening, I feel better now.

[Jocephus]

9 days till i can drink

[Fat_Bulldog]

To go along with jim's rant, I wasn't aware that a workout doesn't count unless you post about it on FB or social media to let everyone know what you did.

[Freed Roger]

9 days till i can drink

do you notice anything diff?

small sample size (though this has held true in larger sample sizes) - I've abstained for 4 days, and lost 3 lbs with avg exercise. It's not the alcohol itself but the extra eating I do when/after I drink.

I don't think I'll attempt the month-long purge, but will limit my drinking, mostly to weekends. I'm looking to drop 8 lbs or so over the next 2 months - to see what it does for my running.

Not drinking is made easier since I have a no [expletive] sports to follow this time of year, and I'm semi-busy and cloistered.

[Jocephus]

I think i'm sleeping better and that kind of "bloated-ness" you get (or at least, i get) after drinking is not there (which could also include food i eat during drinking, snacky stuff). i imagine i've shed a couple pounds but i haven't checked official. I'm 6'1 and i try to be between 180-190lbs.

i realized late this week that feb 1st is actually super bowl sunday...and while i dont necessarily care about who wins but because its an "event" i may drink a few too many...which im thinking maybe i should take monday off from work...

[Freed Roger]

To go along with jim's rant, I wasn't aware that a workout doesn't count unless you post about it on FB or social media to let everyone know what you did.

I've heard of people doing this, though I'm not on FB.

I'll admit, I'll upload my garmin results to my account online (I have 4 people that can follow my garmin feed). And once in a while, I'll post a thought on my race or workout -lessons learned, positives, things to work on, goals, route beta etc. I have yet to refer back on the comments and they would make scarce sense to anyone else.

it's kind of like a grocery list or to-do list. it can occasionally be useful to externalize what's going on.
-------
That heart-rate monitor zone training, it's something I'm not doing (as if that matters). listening to podcasts with successful endurance athletes-triathalete types tend to geek out all over all data (heartrate, cadence, swimstroke stuff) some swear by it. Some runners do it to, but most tend to go more by feel, which is entirely possible if you know yourself.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Not drinking is made easier since I have a no [expletive] sports to follow this time of year, and I'm semi-busy and cloistered.

++ I actually have been getting work done around the house and not drinking very much the past couple weekends. Looking back, I would probably do work during the 11 am games during college football and probably crack a beer for the kick of the CBS day game then spend the rest of the day slowly but surely moving more towards football/drinking and away from working/giving a [expletive].

[jim]

9 days till i can drink

do you notice anything diff?

small sample size (though this has held true in larger sample sizes) - I've abstained for 4 days, and lost 3 lbs with avg exercise. It's not the alcohol itself but the extra eating I do when/after I drink.

I don't think I'll attempt the month-long purge, but will limit my drinking, mostly to weekends. I'm looking to drop 8 lbs or so over the next 2 months - to see what it does for my running.

Not drinking is made easier since I have a no [expletive] sports to follow this time of year, and I'm semi-busy and cloistered.

Dime to a dollar says you didn't really lose 3 pounds in 4 days. Water weight.