Fitness/Diet Accountability Thread

[BPPLEE]

Body Battery wasn't so great today. It barely went up and sleep quality was poor. Sometimes you can weigh the scales in your favor with recovery, but it doesn't always work out. I suspect the exercise load was just too much yesterday, even though I spent less time in the gym- resistance training seems to induce a fatigue that can't be accounted for very well on smart watches or fitness trackers.

Today I just did 15 minutes of using the Blade and doing club mills. I've learned the forward and reverse version of the Indian club mills now, so I have a complete workout. I used my plastic 1lb clubs, which actually feel somewhat heavier than my vintage clubs.

The Body Blade type exercises can be fairly intense for somebody like me. However, the intensity is very manageable. It seems like the best way to use it is vibrating it in different positions and doing each position (in front of you, to the side with one hand, behind your back with both hands, etc.) as a set until you feel some burn. Then take a brief rest to let lactate clear, and go on to another set. You get a decent workout doing this that actually isn't too fatiguing the next day. I see this kind of thing as a fun exercise that would be great for somebody new to fitness, who wants something easily managed. All that's missing is a lower body focus, which I think could be made up for by doing some squats.

I get off work at 12 today. My leg is bothering me a little so I haven’t decided what I am going to do for my workout

 

[FireDragon76]

Yesterday I just did low intensity cardio at the gym for about 45 minutes. My heart rate was only about 40 percent intensity. It was sort of an active recovery day, more or less. Getting the blood and joints moving helps to get rid of soreness, and keep up some endurance, but it's not so intense that it actually causes fatigue.

The morning HRV check with Elite HRV said I should be cautious, and gave a score of 5/10. HRV was well above baseline, at 65ms. I think it's moving to establish a new, higher baseline, and is just responding favorably to yesterday's low intensity session. Nevertheless, I'm going to take it easy today and engage in light activity only. An HRV score of over 60ms would be very good to have as a baseline, as it's well above the average for my age.

Today I just did Body Blade and Indian club swings after I got up. I'm really liking the Body Blade type workouts. I like to pace myself, though, so it doesn't get too intense, performing multiple sets with rest periods of about a minute or so. Tracking heart rate makes it easy to pace the exercises so you're focusing on muscle stimilus, and not fatigue.

 

[BPPLEE]

Feeling fatigued today. I did 400 reps with the Mace then followed with the Battle Rope and Indian Clubs swings

 

[FireDragon76]

I'm taking another rest day. I'll go to the gym tomorrow assuming I get enough rest today.

 

[BPPLEE]

Today’s workout
Incline Flys superset with Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
20 x 10-10
50 x 8-10
40 x 8-10
30 x 8-10
20 x 10-10
Kettlebell Swings, no rest between sets
60 x 10
50 x 10
35 x 10
30 x 10
25 x 10
20 x 10
30lb Mace
Right to Left x 10
Left to Right x 10
Curl Catch x 4
The heavy swings took more out of me than I expected.
Tomorrow will be Back and 1,000 reps with the Mace

 

[FireDragon76]

Yesterday I spent the day resting and doing breathwork and biofeedback with EliteHRV. My heart rate variability (HRV) and Body Battery have been improving. I'm getting some actual blue rest periods during the day on my Body Battery display, and yesterday I ended the day with a score of 42/100. Overnight, it recharged to 85, which is the highest score I have seen so far.

 

[BPPLEE]

15lb Mace
Overhead Swings X 20
Alternating Swings X 40
Rev Grip Swings. X 20R, 20L
Right to Left. X 20
Left to Right. X 20
Side to Side. X 60
200 reps
Repeat with 15lb Mace
Repeat with 10 lb Mace
Repeat with 10lb Mace
Repeat with 7 lb Mace
No rest between sets, 1,000 reps nonstop
30lb Mace
Right to Left X 10
Left to Right X 10
Right Arm Swings X 20
Left Arm Swings X 20
Curl Catch X 30

1,000 reps was challenging. I have been training again for one year. I started on 4/21/23
It’s unbelievable how heavy the 30lb Mace feels. When the weight is in a ball at the end of a long handle leverage makes it feel much heavier.
I may do another workout today for Back, Shoulders and Arms

 

[FireDragon76]

Body Battery and stress scores have continued to be better. I went to the gym yesterday for about an hour, but since most of the exercise was low intensity, I was able to recover fairly well in a few hours. Today I plan to have another rest day and focus on biofeedback breath work and rest.

 

[FireDragon76]

My sleep could have been better last night. I don't think the IKEA bed is working out, and may have to return a mattress for a heavier model. Just too many pressure points during the night, it irritates my IT band particularly on my left side. My S.O. who is alot lighter than me has slept on the bed, thinks its fine. If I were a back sleeper, it might not be such a big deal, but I sleep on my side.

Losing another ten pounds could probably also help. My weight loss has slower to a crawl, however, and I'm losing about a half pound a month. Even though I am in low grade ketosis, I'm eating too much fat in my diet so most of the fat being burned is from diet. Protein bars probably account for most of that, I have been eating one or two a day some days. I've been trying to substitute eating plain oatmeal instead. Given my basal metabolic rate is so low (around 1400), it's hard to get the basic recommended intake of protein at that level, just from eating a strictly whole foods diet. I've also been cutting back on exercise to give my body a rest, and that's probably slowed weight loss. I'll probably just try going back to a "clean" diet and see what happens.

I think it just shows that the emerging evidence that processed foods contribute to weight gain is probably true, and if you want to lose weight, you should probably avoid them. Even foods that are made from relatively healthy ingredients can make weight loss more difficult if the foods are calorically dense.

 

[BPPLEE]

My sleep has gotten worse.
My leg is bothering me too. I hope it’s better by Wednesday so I can work out

 

[FireDragon76]

I already did some Body Blade and club swings. Today I plan to go to the park and spend half an hour on the air walker. The morning is remarkably cool for Orlando weather this time of year, it's still in the 50's.

 

[FireDragon76]

I think all the rest and light exercise is paying off. My pulse is 5-6 bpm lower using the air walker or going for a walk, than it was previously, which means I've achieved a degree of supercompensation as compared to a month or two ago. My average resting heart rate is also somewhat lower.

 

[BPPLEE]

Didn’t work out yesterday, tried to give my leg a break. It’s still hurting today but I’m going to work out anyway.
5:00 am
Mace X 1,000 reps. 30 minutes nonstop
It doesn’t seem like 30 minutes, I get in a flow and counting the reps keeps my mind busy.

 

[BPPLEE]

Just curious how you consider your routine "low volume"? What you are describing sounds like relatively high volume, albeit you're using unconventional/less common training tools, like maces or clubs. I'm not saying it's too high volume, though. It's all about what an individual can recover from: the more experienced and conditioned you are, the more volume you can handle.

FWIW, this was today's workout, after walking a half mile to the local fitness club:

-5 minutes each Sci-Fit recumbent cycle, stepper, and lateral stepper, isometric strength setting
-2 sets x 10 reps x 40 lbs glute press/kickbacks (rehab/prehab to get in better shape for jogging and running intervals)
-3x8x40 rows
-1x8x40 chest presses
-1x10x4 Arnold presses
-5 minute cooldown on upright bike.

Then I walked home. The workload ratio for that workout is good in terms of cardiovascular fitness, no rest days are incurred, though I won't be doing a full body strength workout like that again until Wednesday (I'll probably do the Blade and clubs tomorrow, since the upper body workout was relatively light today).

I timed the 1,000 reps with the Mace. I did 400 with the 15lb, 400 with the 10lb and 200 with the 7lb and it took about 33 minutes. I want to start doing this 3 times a week on non consecutive days, I will incorporate the 30 pound Mace, I didn’t today because I am having nerve pain in my leg and felt it was best not to push it. I also have a 20lb ordered so I will work all of them into the 1,000 reps
I have to do the Mace training outside so early morning is going to be the best time before it gets too hot.
I’m going to ask my doctor for something for sleep today. I’m still not sleeping long

 

[FireDragon76]

Last night I couldn't sleep so I got up and went to bed in the early morning and slept for six hours. My Body Battery score recharged to an astonishing 90 percent. This makes me think maybe I have some kind of circadian rythm or sleep architecture problems. But it might explain why ordinarily my Body Battery falls like a rock in the mornings if I am awake.

Today I worked out with the Aeroblade for ten minutes. Looking at the data I collected, it generates alot of EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption or "after burn"), making it more intense than activities like low-intensity stead state cardio (like walking or riding a bike). The anti-glycolytic protocol is a good idea, to let heart rate fall so that lactate is given a chance to clear. Peak heart rate got up to about 66 percent intensity, which is higher than I intended, but not actually crossing the lactate threshold.

Then I did ten minutes of Indian club swinging, forward and reverse mills. I usually practice single arm swinging because I like the extra core stability training and I don't like banging clubs together.

I put the data into Runalyze and it says the twenty minute session produced a modest cardio training effect, though I am still leaning towards recovery over hard training.

 

[BPPLEE]

I had considerable leg pain yesterday and still feel some today. I’m just going to work the muscles with traditional exercises and skip Kettlebell Swings today.
Giant Set: Chest Expander - InnStar Chest Press - Krusher - BodyBlade x
10-10-10-45 seconds, 10-10-10-40 seconds, 10-10-10-40 seconds
Band Curls x 10, 10, 10
Finish with BodyBlade

 

[BPPLEE]

Last night I couldn't sleep so I got up and went to bed in the early morning and slept for six hours. My Body Battery score recharged to an astonishing 90 percent. This makes me think maybe I have some kind of circadian rythm or sleep architecture problems. But it might explain why ordinarily my Body Battery falls like a rock in the mornings if I am awake.

Today I worked out with the Aeroblade for ten minutes. Looking at the data I collected, it generates alot of EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption or "after burn"), making it more intense than activities like low-intensity stead state cardio (like walking or riding a bike). The anti-glycolytic protocol is a good idea, to let heart rate fall so that lactate is given a chance to clear. Peak heart rate got up to about 66 percent intensity, which is higher than I intended, but not actually crossing the lactate threshold.

Then I did ten minutes of Indian club swinging, forward and reverse mills. I usually practice single arm swinging because I like the extra core stability training and I don't like banging clubs together.

I put the data into Runalyze and it says the twenty minute session produced a modest cardio training effect, though I am still leaning towards recovery over hard training.

I don’t remember if I gave you this link but they have a newsletter that is informative and interesting.

Understanding Why "Less Is More" with Anti-Glycolytic Training | StrongFirst

Anti-glycolytic training protocols are training approaches that avoid relying on the glycolytic system, and it can be helpful to understand the science.

www.strongfirst.com

 

[BPPLEE]

I slept better last night, I may have my routine figured out now. The leg pain became unbearable last night after I did some housework and I kept ice packs on it until I went to bed. I just did some brief pre-exhaust training this morning. I want to train with the mace but I’m afraid it will irritate my back and make the leg pain worse.
I will be dispatching at work tomorrow and next week so I won’t be doing a lot of walking.
If my leg is still feeling better this afternoon I may do some work with the mace. If not I’m going to workout with bands and the BodyBlade.
My weight is down to 280 which is my goal for the 1st of the month and I have 40 more pounds to lose to make it 100 pounds lost.

 

[FireDragon76]

I took my HRV this morning and it was terrible, and EliteHRV suggested a rest day. I've been feeling "under the weather" a little, I had a cough this morning. Hopefully I am not coming down with anything.

The wierd thing is that this came out of the blue. The only thing I noticed: maybe my room was slightly too cool last night. I woke up stiff all over.

I just went to Avery's park and did about 45 minutes of air walker and then walked home. I only burned about 100 calories, which is fairly low for 45 minutes of activity.

 

[timewerx]

My weight is down to 280 which is my goal for the 1st of the month and I have 40 more pounds to lose to make it 100 pounds lost.

Nice!

The leg pain became unbearable last night after I did some housework and I kept ice packs on it until I went to bed.

Sorry to hear. Look at the possibility of obtaining camel milk. It's not just the higher concentration of Lactoferrin that's in it. It also has "nanobodies". Special adaptations animals get in dehydrated conditions.

Nanobodies are able to penetrate deeper into tissues even without presence of blood vessels such as the joints. They can serve as anti-inflammatory and hasten healing of afflicted joints. They can also boost the immune system and among other things.