I'm still working on cleaning off the treadmill.
I'm still working on cleaning off the treadmill.
I was going through a round of PT for a neck issue last month, and my therapist said I needed to incorporate some strength training to complement the exercises she gave me and avoid similar trouble down the road. I hate going to a gym, so I did a little searching online and found this:
https://medium.com/personal-growth/t...t-ee789f909efd
I started two weeks ago, 2X per week, using minimal or zero added weight for now, and it feels pretty effective. Pull-ups are not happening for me yet, but I'm working up to it by standing on a short stool so I'm doing the full recommended motion without using my full body weight. And so far pushups are from my knees, in order to be able to do the recommended number of reps. Added to the rest of my PT exercises (both neck and low back), the routine takes me about an hour, and I'm sweating by the end. Seems like a decent way to start for anyone who wants to build strength gradually. Anyone else do anything similar?
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
I try to walk three miles every night at a pace of two steps per second. It's all hills around here, too. I had to stop for a couple of weeks due to a pinched nerve. Oh yeah, and laziness.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
To a point, yes.
Prior to the Covid-days, I was traveling for a full week, every 2nd week. I had a routine very similar to this, that I did in the hotel room in the mornings.
I started with a low rep-count, and increased by exactly 1 rep every day. It worked quite well.
BTW - for pushups, my wrists were hurting, so I bought these:
Regards,
Duncan
My middle daughter and I took a four mile walk with the dog yesterday.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!
Thanks for that, Duncan, I do have a set of those and may start using them once I get off of my knees for the pushups ;-)
BTW, do you have any suggestions for working up to a "real" pull-up? The only thing I could think of was what I mentioned earlier: standing on a footstool and trying to keep good form (slow movement without swinging forward and back, pausing at the top w/chin at the bar) while using my feet to take some of my body weight off the exercise.
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
I've been doing planks almost every day for about 4-5 months. My god, what a workout. I hold 'em for at least a minute 5 days a week. If I do planks too many days in a row my back hurts, but the benefit of doing planks are evident immediately (better posture, core strength, flat stomach). I also alternate and do pushups and hold a plank for 30 seconds in the up position.
E-A-T
I think the planks are a good exercise and locally groups that hike, now plank in isolation. However the most important exercise during C19 would be cardio vascular. Increasing the ability to uptake oxygen is key.
There is a way we could identify more patients who have Covid pneumonia sooner and treat them more effectively — and it would not require waiting for a coronavirus test at a hospital or doctor’s office. It requires detecting silent hypoxia early through a common medical device that can be purchased without a prescription at most pharmacies: a pulse oximeter.
Pulse oximetry is no more complicated than using a thermometer. These small devices turn on with one button and are placed on a fingertip. In a few seconds, two numbers are displayed: oxygen saturation and pulse rate. Pulse oximeters are extremely reliable in detecting oxygenation problems and elevated heart rates.
Pulse oximeters helped save the lives of two emergency physicians I know, alerting them early on to the need for treatment. When they noticed their oxygen levels declining, both went to the hospital and recovered
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/20/o...?smid=fb-share
I'd suggest you're doing the right thing.
Two other approaches:
1)
- Do a (fake) pull-up, using your legs. I.e. no effort - just lift up all the way.
- Now lift your feet, and do a "negative" pull up, by slowly lowering your weight.
2)
- Do a pull-up without the stool. (You know you aren't going to do the whole pull-up )
- But go as far as you can, then come back down again.
- Give yourself a few days recovery between attempts.
- Try again, and see if you can go (say) a quarter of an inch higher next time.
Also - while using the stool, alternate between pull-ups and chin-ups (i.e. forward vs. reverse grip), and alternate a wider vs. a narrower grip. That will recruit a wide range of the muscles, whereas using the same grip constantly will put too much concentration on the same muscle group.
Good luck!
Regards,
Duncan
I've been lazy, and haven't done them for a while. 2 Minutes takes for f***ing ever! LOL
For variety, try:
- Plank for 30 seconds.
- Raise your right leg a few inches (keeping the knee straight) for 15 seconds.
- Now do the same with your left leg - raise it for 15 seconds.
See if that can be extended to 60 seconds, and 30 and 30 seconds
Regards,
Duncan
Here's an article from a super-athlete who is a "Level-1 cycling coach" who occasionally rides with our local cycling group, with top-flight cardio vascular conditioning, and ... who HAD Covid-19.
https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/a...00CnbPgPkHgoVE
An interesting read.
Regards,
Duncan
Yeah I think 2 minutes is probably my personal best. The only other variation of the blank I do is: I do ten pushups and hold the last rep for 30 seconds. I repeat that 4 or 5 times. But yeah, the first minute I breeze through but by 90 seconds it's a psychological fight to keep going. Today I did four sets of ten knee bends, then drop immediately and do 10-12 pushups. I've been doing this long before Covid lockdown. I didn't renew my gym membership last year.
E-A-T
I read an article recently about a 62 year old, retired military who has the record for holding the plank position for eight HOURS and change. I can't believe that. If you tell me one hour that's believable. But the look on the man's face is trance-like.
E-A-T
^ Jan-Michael Vincent in The Tribe.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Yeah it's like a Zen, nirvana thing.Those who learn the "trance" technique can hold the position indefinitely.
Really?
In 14 weeks of basics, in an artillery battery of over 200 recruits, I never saw anyone who could hold this for more than 10 minutes. All I ever saw and felt was agony.
'Course, we were holding big, heavy FN-FALs, not the whimpy lightweight rifles they use today
Regards,
Duncan
That's because most recruits DON'T learn the technique. BTW: the technique is officially taught in SERE school to members like special forces, and combat pilots and air crew, with a strong possibility of being captured behind enemy lines. It helps them, at least theoretically, to withstand unspeakable torture.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
This is the stuff I need to be doing. About a week after I joined a gym, they closed all the gyms. I was pretty psyched about some of the equipment they had there too. Exercises that felt great for my obliques, which is what I really need to strengthen. Walking a couple days a week. Need to ramp it all up!
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