Fitness and prepardness.. but im tired today

tirwin1 · Aug 26, 2024

I joined a crossfit gym roughly 10 months ago. My wife had joined a year before that and I saw the improvement it had made in her life. Prior to that she had essentially stopped going on hikes because she had little strength or endurance. Once I saw how she was able to hike last summer I decided to join.

Crossfit gets a bad rap because of the extra "gung ho" attitude of some people (and the recent drowning death in the crossfit games doesn't help). But at our gym most of the people are there just to get in shape. There are some incredibly large people that are doing the classes so it's not just for the young and thin. I would say women are 50% of the gym membership. One guy in our gym is 72 and I can only hope to perform like him when I am his age. (He'd rather be the oldest guy in the gym than the youngest guy in a nursing home).

The thing I like about crossfit is the varying nature of the exercises. Going for a run or using the same weights is much better than doing nothing. But crossfit classes work on just about every muscle in the body so you don't really get stale. I have a bad back and two bum knees but the instructor gives me alternate exercises if there are things I can't do.

Classes aren't free of course so you have to consider the cost versus working out on your own. But I would recommend joining a crossfit gym if you are serious about getting in shape.

alistair · Nov 17, 2024

I took part in my first GoRuck event yesterday in Warwick, NY.
I have not trained and presently im overweight, so the PT exercises at the start kicked my butt. I managed the trekking portion no problem.
Overall I had a great time and will look into another event after I have done some Crossfit training.

Xae289 · Nov 18, 2024

Been consistent with the gym since my August post. My strength has come right back. Easily within 70-100% of my peak levels depending on the lift. My muscles felt like they got inflated with an air hose in the first month.

I got to a good spot strength-wise, so now I'm doing a small, but extreme, cutting phase. I just came off a 5-day water-only fast last week. Broke it with my friends at our hunting camp for 2 days. I did 4 days of lifting during the fast to minimize muscle loss. The 5-day was effortless with no bad effects. I'm jumping straight into an 8-day fast starting last night til next Tuesday morning so I have two days to refeed gently before Thanskgiving.

I'm very experienced at fasting, having done plenty of 2-4 day fasts in the past all while working an intensely physical job and one 5-day while laid-up, injured, but this one's results were interesting. Usually on a 3-4 day fast like I would do years ago, I would shed around 6-8lbs of water weight in the first day or two, lose 1.5-3 lbs of fat, then refeed and instantly regain the water weight. This time, I never got a large dip in water weight. This was especially strange since the days before the fast, I carb-loaded, ate 3 square meals, drank beer and was pissing clear from good hydration. Clothes fit noticeably looser, my tape measurements show ~3% bodyfat loss, but I only regained 2-3 lbs from the refeed for a net loss of 9 lbs (223.8 down to 215.4). This weekend refeed was pretty dirty. Beer, pretzels, and a couple ham + cheese sandwiches on the first day plus more beer, pretzels, cookies, ham+cheese, a lot of venison and bear meat, plus a protein shake before bed last night.

I'm very interested by these results, so I'm going for a cleaner refeed next time. I need to hit the gym before breaking fast and have my first meal be small, but high-protein. Then I'll spend a week eating high-protein, medium carb/fat at maintenance calories for a week after Thanksgiving to reset my diet fatigue and reassess my gym stats while I'm well-fed. A small strength loss is acceptable, strength maintenance would be optimal, and strength gain would be unreal. As long as I don't see that I'm way down in strength to show a major loss of muscle, after a 10-day maintenance phase after Thanksgiving, I'm going to do another 1 or 2 more extended fasts leading up to Christmas. My ideal goal is to spend less time in the gym come January and start focusing on cardio, but I need to be in the 190s first so that I can jog and sprint without it beating the hell out of my knees and feet. My ultimate goal is around 170-180 and bodyfat % in the mid-to-low teens.

Jmac00 · Nov 18, 2024

Xae289 said:
Been consistent with the gym since my August post. My strength has come right back. Easily within 70-100% of my peak levels depending on the lift. My muscles felt like they got inflated with an air hose in the first month.

I got to a good spot strength-wise, so now I'm doing a small, but extreme, cutting phase. I just came off a 5-day water-only fast last week. Broke it with my friends at our hunting camp for 2 days. I did 4 days of lifting during the fast to minimize muscle loss. The 5-day was effortless with no bad effects. I'm jumping straight into an 8-day fast starting last night til next Tuesday morning so I have two days to refeed gently before Thanskgiving.

I'm very experienced at fasting, having done plenty of 2-4 day fasts in the past all while working an intensely physical job and one 5-day while laid-up, injured, but this one's results were interesting. Usually on a 3-4 day fast like I would do years ago, I would shed around 6-8lbs of water weight in the first day or two, lose 1.5-3 lbs of fat, then refeed and instantly regain the water weight. This time, I never got a large dip in water weight. This was especially strange since the days before the fast, I carb-loaded, ate 3 square meals, drank beer and was pissing clear from good hydration. Clothes fit noticeably looser, my tape measurements show ~3% bodyfat loss, but I only regained 2-3 lbs from the refeed for a net loss of 9 lbs (223.8 down to 215.4). This weekend refeed was pretty dirty. Beer, pretzels, and a couple ham + cheese sandwiches on the first day plus more beer, pretzels, cookies, ham+cheese, a lot of venison and bear meat, plus a protein shake before bed last night.

I'm very interested by these results, so I'm going for a cleaner refeed next time. I need to hit the gym before breaking fast and have my first meal be small, but high-protein. Then I'll spend a week eating high-protein, medium carb/fat at maintenance calories for a week after Thanksgiving to reset my diet fatigue and reassess my gym stats while I'm well-fed. A small strength loss is acceptable, strength maintenance would be optimal, and strength gain would be unreal. As long as I don't see that I'm way down in strength to show a major loss of muscle, after a 10-day maintenance phase after Thanksgiving, I'm going to do another 1 or 2 more extended fasts leading up to Christmas. My ideal goal is to spend less time in the gym come January and start focusing on cardio, but I need to be in the 190s first so that I can jog and sprint without it beating the hell out of my knees and feet. My ultimate goal is around 170-180 and bodyfat % in the mid-to-low teens.

I tried fasting once, worse 12 minutes of my life

Xae289 · Nov 26, 2024

So I fasted again from Sunday night to Friday morning, (4.5 days). This time it went poorly. Energy was low and diet fatigue was high. I never broke through to the higher plane of existence feeling that extended fasting can give you, but was grouchy, tired, and got poor sleep and workouts. Worst of all, a twinge in my foot ended up in awful swelling and extreme pain by Friday. Thinking I hurt it acutely in the gym or while hunting, I kept my fast. After breaking the fast, the pain became intolerable. I had the same feeling twice before and thought both times (never while fasting) that it was the result of high mileage in poorly fitting boots. This time I went to the doctor and got it diagnosed as gout. I suspect that being deep in ketosis, which raises uric acid in the blood, eating lot of red meat and drinking beer during feeding windows along with very poor hydration was the perfect storm.

The gout flare up only cost me 3 days away from the gym and I did an arm workout at home while my foot was a balloon.

The good news is that I've been cleanly refeeding since Friday. I aim to eat at maintenance calories and eating that much was challenging and very filling. Mostly high-protein whole foods. Lots of eggs, legumes, whey protein, some bread, as well as lots of water, some tart cherry juice and a little coffee to fight the gout. The good doctor's prescriptions cut right through the disease overnight. I'm down to 210 for an honest loss of 13lbs in two weeks after 3 days of refeeding. I hit the gym hard this morning. My bench went down a little to 185 for only 5 reps instead of 7. Chest flies and leg extensions went up 20 lbs each for my usual number of reps to failure and upright rows went up 15 lbs. Still don't want to risk putting much weight on my feet, so squats, leg presses, and deadlifts will have to wait a week.

I still plan to do an extended fast again 10 days after Thanksgiving, but this time will hydrate like crazy. Long-term I'm going to cut back hard on beer and go for less wine instead. I'll also cut red meats big-time and lean hard on dairy, eggs, poultry, whey, and beans for protein.

Jmac00 · Nov 26, 2024

Xae289 said:
. This time I went to the doctor and got it diagnosed as gout. I suspect that being deep in ketosis, which raises uric acid in the blood, eating lot of red meat and drinking beer during feeding windows along with very poor hydration was the perfect storm.

The gout flare up only cost me 3 days away from the gym and I did an arm workout at home while my foot was a balloon.

Welcome to the Gout club. My last acute** attack was February of 2011, and it last SIX WEEKS, I came real close to shooting my right foot off, seriously. My wife was so worried, she hide my guns

**when I get a gout attack, its so severe I can't do anything. And it usually last 3 to 6 weeks. NOW! I take Allopurinol EVERY DAY to keep gout at bay. If my big toe even hints at a possible attack, I double up on the Allopurinol and that usually saves me, usually ?

Xae289 · Nov 26, 2024

Jmac00 said:
Welcome to the Gout club. My last acute** attack was February of 2011, and it last SIX WEEKS, I came real close to shooting my right foot off, seriously. My wife was so worried, she hide my guns

**when I get a gout attack, its so severe I can't do anything. And it usually last 3 to 6 weeks. NOW! I take Allopurinol EVERY DAY to keep gout at bay. If my big toe even hints at a possible attack, I double up on the Allopurinol and that usually saves me, usually ?

Looking back on the symptoms, I think I've had 3 in the last 3 years. I was drinking a lot of beer and eating a lot of red meat. My first two lasted about a week of severe pain. This one was 3 days of pain, but these meds cut through it immediately. This morning I woke up with barely a hobble. Definitely woke me up to the need to stay well hydrated. I've always been bad about it.

Jmac00 · Nov 26, 2024

Xae289 said:
Looking back on the symptoms, I think I've had 3 in the last 3 years. I was drinking a lot of beer and eating a lot of red meat. My first two lasted about a week of severe pain. This one was 3 days of pain, but these meds cut through it immediately. This morning I woke up with barely a hobble. Definitely woke me up to the need to stay well hydrated. I've always been bad about it.

what did they give you? I was taking Etodolac for awhile, but that didn't help, so they switched me to Allopurinol

Xae289 · Nov 26, 2024

Jmac00 said:
what did they give you? I was taking Etodolac for awhile, but that didn't help, so they switched me to Allopurinol

Indomethacin and Colchicine, both meant to treat the acute symptoms. 24 hours later about 80% of the pain and inflammation is gone. Nothing preventative like Allopurinol because I went to an urgent care and they didn't have the stuff to test for gout, so the doctor decided to treat me as a presumed case and hit the symptoms aggressively. They're going to refer me to a primary care physician to get formally tested. If you ever get another flare up, these drugs work very well. Very nasty stomach side-effects though.

Xae289 · Apr 20, 2025

Anyone else here got any good updates?

I'm down to around 20% bodyfat in the low 190s (down from a peak of 33% in September at 223lbs). I look and feel 10x batter already, but I'm not done yet. Now the hard work really begins as I'm looking to grind my way down to a goal of the mid 170s by July.

Still minimal cardio with most everything coming as a result of lifting hard. Still hitting PRs on most lifts. I fasted regularly (3 days/week all but 1 week) during Lent. My foot got diagnosed as bunion problems, not gout, so I'm managing that by sticking to low impact cardio like walking, rowing, and slow jogging. I'll wait to get into the 180s to start running and have been doing foot exercises to strengthen the muscles made weaker by the bone misalignment. Gonna try to rep out 225 lbs on bench for 3-4 next chest day, a benchmark goal I've had since September. Last chest day I got 185 for 9 on my first set, so I think it's doable.

I'm a bit stuck in the 190-195 lbs range, so I'm planning a 5 day fast in early May followed up quickly by a 4 day the week after, all while lifting much lighter weights. That 1-2 punch should slingshot me down 6-7 lbs of fat in 2 weeks with minimal muscle loss. Just gotta eat at maintenance for a couple weeks beforehand.

SonOfSun · Apr 23, 2025

Xae289 said:
Anyone else here got any good updates?

I'm down to around 20% bodyfat in the low 190s (down from a peak of 33% in September at 223lbs). I look and feel 10x batter already, but I'm not done yet. Now the hard work really begins as I'm looking to grind my way down to a goal of the mid 170s by July.

Good stuff.

Xae289 said:
Still minimal cardio with most everything coming as a result of lifting hard. Still hitting PRs on most lifts. I fasted regularly (3 days/week all but 1 week) during Lent. My foot got diagnosed as bunion problems, not gout, so I'm managing that by sticking to low impact cardio like walking, rowing, and slow jogging. I'll wait to get into the 180s to start running and have been doing foot exercises to strengthen the muscles made weaker by the bone misalignment.

You don't need cardio at all to lose weight. It's a common misconception. All you need to do is consume eat less calories than you burn in a day. Cardio has cardiovascular benefits, but it won't necessarily make you lose weight.

You can get cardio in at the same time weights with circuit training. I do very limited cardio and setup circuits instead. Two birds one stone. So I'll do squats and then go right into incline dumbell presses and then directly into bent over rows after that. Trust me, you'll be breathing hard if you do that sort of thing.

Xae289 said:
Gonna try to rep out 225 lbs on bench for 3-4 next chest day, a benchmark goal I've had since September. Last chest day I got 185 for 9 on my first set, so I think it's doable.

NSCA tables for this conversion.

https://www.nsca.com/contentassets/61d813865e264c6e852cadfe247eae52/nsca_training_load_chart.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOooOFC8cARw38f1Ihgj7nOKfXeDsABu_72j3kZCsogsjPLxyPjrK

Xae289 said:
I'm a bit stuck in the 190-195 lbs range, so I'm planning a 5 day fast in early May followed up quickly by a 4 day the week after, all while lifting much lighter weights. That 1-2 punch should slingshot me down 6-7 lbs of fat in 2 weeks with minimal muscle loss. Just gotta eat at maintenance for a couple weeks bebeforehand.

I'd try calorie cycling. Say your goal to lose a half pound a week is a 2100 daily calorie intake. You'd do 3 days at 1800 and 4 days at 2325. The week average is 2100 but by having higher days it helps stop your metabolism from slowing down. I'd do a 2-2-1-2 split (7 days).

I just got back from vacation, but I've been doing a basic 3 day a week routine for about 12 years, 2 full body days with big compounds, 1 isolation day. I do 30 mins of cardio a week total on a bike. My lift sessions are about an hour each. So figure 3-4 hours a week total. This pic was from vacation that the Mrs. took.

SonOfSun · Apr 24, 2025

Celt said:
Still at it, Ill always be at it since its a way of life. Been dealing with bicep tendonitis for a few months so ive just been hitting legs 2-3 days a week. I incoprorate some firearms drills during my workouts as well. Presentations, drawing from holster, high ready, low ready, mag changes, etc.. all stuff i can do at home.

Im around 220 right now, I may try to drop to 205 for the challenge of it, but I need to get rid of the tendonitis first.

Tendinitis is a bitch. I get it in my left bicep if I go too heavy on isolation day. I've mitigated it by doing high rep instead of moderately heavy. So 18-25 reps vs 6-12. It's still well within hypertrophic range so it is whay it is. Sucks getting old(er)

Xae289 · Apr 25, 2025

SonOfSun said:
Good stuff.

You don't need cardio at all to lose weight. It's a common misconception. All you need to do is consume eat less calories than you burn in a day. Cardio has cardiovascular benefits, but it won't necessarily make you lose weight.

You can get cardio in at the same time weights with circuit training. I do very limited cardio and setup circuits instead. Two birds one stone. So I'll do squats and then go right into incline dumbell presses and then directly into bent over rows after that. Trust me, you'll be breathing hard if you do that sort of thing.

NSCA tables for this conversion.

https://www.nsca.com/contentassets/61d813865e264c6e852cadfe247eae52/nsca_training_load_chart.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOooOFC8cARw38f1Ihgj7nOKfXeDsABu_72j3kZCsogsjPLxyPjrK

I'd try calorie cycling. Say your goal to lose a half pound a week is a 2100 daily calorie intake. You'd do 3 days at 1800 and 4 days at 2325. The week average is 2100 but by having higher days it helps stop your metabolism from slowing down. I'd do a 2-2-1-2 split (7 days).

I just got back from vacation, but I've been doing a basic 3 day a week routine for about 12 years, 2 full body days with big compounds, 1 isolation day. I do 30 mins of cardio a week total on a bike. My lift sessions are about an hour each. So figure 3-4 hours a week total. This pic was from vacation that the Mrs. took.

View attachment 264231

Hell yea, good stuff. My gym isn't really conducive to that kind of training, unfortunately, so I do basic stuff. My split is:
-Chest
-Back, including rear delt isolation work
Rest/cardio/walk
-Arms including side and front delts
-Legs (quads/glutes)
-Leftovers (isolation for calves, abs, obliques, and lower back)
Rest/cardio/walk

The rest days usually involve long walks or a 30-45 min cardio session. I don't do a whole lot of it. I definitely know that I don't need it to lose weight, but I do like to occasionally hit it. I don't love running, but I want to be at least reasonably decent at it, even if I have no interest in getting back to my prime of a 19:30, 3-mile. I'll often also throw another rest day into the schedule as needed to either better recover or nurse a hangover.

As far as calorie deficits, I prefer fasting to slow deficits. First off, it's the ultimate extreme in calorie cycling. I'm pretty much at maintenance or a mild surplus for the next week, then timed to when I plan a lifting deload (keep hitting the gym, no sets to failure, 60-80% my usual weight, an extra set or two per exercise) I fast for almost a week, hit a massive calorie deficit, and melt away fat while fasting seems to do a great job of preserving muscle. It's been how I've gotten to where I am now, so I'm gonna keep using that method until I'm at my goal. The only thing about it is that fasts like that build up massive diet fatigue. It's like the dieting equivalent of redlining your engine. Quick spurts like that get me to a distinctly different body composition in a really short period of time. The thing is, I have to hang out there for a bit at maintenance to recover the willpower to do it again and to get used to maintenance at the lower weight.

RedBreast21 · Apr 26, 2025

From the days of my youth with heavy lifting, body weight exercises, calisthenics to triathlons, one thing is abundantly clear now and that's the body likes routine. So every so often gut check yourself. You need to break out of the routine and challenge your body. But if you're like me knocking on the door of another decade, listen to it and don't be a hero. Use that gut check to alter your routine and knock it out of that comfort zone but not injure yourself.

I have been now working on raising my VO2 max through HIIT. Of course I am not getting back to my prime lol but I have noticed improvement and a 50 bpm drop in the first minute after max heart rate. So its helping with conditioning too. :salute:

GOPerfect · Tuesday at 7:21 PM

I love these long lasting threads. We have quite a few of them. When I have empty time, I love reading through them....

Jmac00 · Wednesday at 8:52 AM

Yesterday I worked out for almost 2 hours?? Ok they were Bourbon Curls, with a couple El Ray del Mundo cigars, but it was kind like exercise :beer:

tirwin1 · Wednesday at 9:32 AM

Just got back from my CrossFit class. It's been about a year and a half since I joined. Was sore the first 2 months and honestly didn't like it. But now I actually look forward to it.

It doesn't matter what you do, just do something and stick with it.

RedBreast21 · Wednesday at 10:50 AM

Love this thread too! On D day for my commemoration of the day and to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice, I loaded up 55lbs and rucked 6 miles in Harriman state park. Completed it is a respectable 87 minutes. Fitness should be a way of life and small goals set to keep us moving forward. Sure there are set backs, I've had many as the decades pass. But its not about what you did at age 25, its what you do now that counts. Every bit counts. Cheers! And keep after it! :beer:

Fitness and prepardness.. but im tired today

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