Exercise/Fitness Log

[sodatrain]

I have a GR2 from before they became a tacticool fashion brand, so I paid less. Goruck was initially intended to be daypack built to military specs but able to pass in a civilian setting. One advantage is that you can go rucking without looking like a mall ninja. (I get a kick out of when people try to pick up my otherwise normal looking "book bag"). As the plate sits in the rearmost slot w/o interfering with the rest of the space, rucking can become your default walk-around mode instead of having to pack a bag every time. I also use the GR2 as a weekender (w/o laundry services) or full-time travel (w laundry services).

Initially I just threw some dumbbells in there (it does 50lbs no problem), but I eventually splurged on a no-name 30lbs plate (which fits exactly in the slot as the pack is literally built for this). DBs sit rather low (lumbar), whereas the plate by design sits right between the shoulder blades and is close enough to the body to avoid moving the center of gravity more than a couple of inches away from its usual position if that. This affects posture. With weight more backwards (DBs or sandbags) there's a tendency or even a need to lean forward or use the head as a counterweight.

If the primary goal is to go rucking you could also look for a dedicated plate carrier or simply a weight west. (Check out @bsog's journal. He recently made his own.) This could be worn under regular clothes.

However, if you just want to try rucking, use any bag or backpack and load it up to the stitches. Then you can always upgrade as a reward for a milestone or some such. You definitely don't need a fancy pack. It's more like comparing a luxury car to a budget car. They'll both get you there.

Helpful stuff, especially on how the weight sits/fits and affects posture. Thank you.

Good plan... give it a try and maybe upgrade at a milestone. My hope is to build on the walking I'm doing to give it more 'bang for the buck'. Goal is to get down to 20% body fat - from about 36% now.

[brainstorm]

One of my favorite time-friendly workouts lately: Stairmaster ladder

- Run to gym
- Stairmaster: Start at speed 7, spend 5 min per level, and increase until you can't go any further. Cooldown for 5-10 min. If feeling particularly masochistic, add more rounds. Easily scaled by increasing/decreasing the starting speed. Rails only permitted when near death / to avoid falling.
- Run home

I don't seem to sweat during strength training, but this one does the trick. I also seem to be the only guy using the machine, hmm

[2Birds1Stone]

This fat washed up ex-athlete just joined the gym for the first time in a while........to to get back to it.

This was a good decision. Nearly 8 months later and things are gaining momentum, on track to be in the best shape of my life before my next birthday. It has definitely been a rollercoaster, and there have been some bumps along the way.

We've pretty much been on the move every couple of days/weeks across three continents since then. The training program is excellent at providing structure/routine regardless of geographic location.

It's also a lot easier to make better food choices when you're training, so the decisions just reinforce each other. Ditto on sleep hygiene and self care like stretching and massage (which here in SE Asia costs $6-10/hr).

Will report back in a few months, but so far went from something like 213 lbs @ ~20-22% BF to ~200 lbs @ ~12%

[AxelHeyst]

Iterating my standard workout: For the past year I've been doing a bodyweight/calisthenics superset routine: 3x/wk I do a set of pushups, ring rows, pullups, a squat movement, and core stuff going straight from exercise to exercise, then take a breather and repeat the circuit two more times. I knew it wasn't ideal, but I was designing for compliance/consistency.

Compliance/consistency is now nailed, and this week I began breaking my standard workout into proper separate sets (3-4x pushup movement with rest in between each set, then shoulder work, then back stuff, etc). Already feels more effective and that perceived effectiveness is positive feedbacking my stoke to work out. On non-strength training days I ruck with my climbing gear (40-50lbs maybe?).

Carry Water: at QH, when Serenity runs out of water every 3-5 days, I fill two 5gal (20L) jugs with water from a spigot near the main house and carry them 100m or so to Serenity. It's about 85lbs/38kg. It recently occurred to me I could use that as a trigger to do a hard thing, so now I carry the jugs to serenity via the creek, which is about a half mile total trip. My first time was 9:30, second was 8:06, third 8:16 (working on technique).

Murphs: I fell off this when I went to MH Nov/Dec because I didn't have logistics/skills to do the running and pullups when cold out. I'm sure my Murph time is *bad* right now, but I plan on figuring something out to at bare minimum crosstrain for improving murph performance even when it's cold AF at Moose Haven.

Zone 2: Man, that shit is *boring*. My z2 training compliance is non-existent. I gave up and when back to rucking and/or hill sprints. Figuring out a WoG-integrated way to increase z2 volume is in the back of my mind.

My hi-tech $$$ exercise equipment in use:

(Note the box-shaped object (which was trivial to find), which doubles as a motorcycle stand, stepstool, sitting stool, box for split squats and getting proper foot elevation for ring presses and rows, big F'ing rock holder, and weight for holding stuff down when it's windy).

[philipreal]

I can't believe AH was the model for Hanzi this whole time and never told us!

[7Wannabe5]

It might be interesting to map the 9 possibilities for Hair and Beard being Long/Trimmed/Shaved against other models. The female possibilities, as usual, are much more complex. A recent article in NYT even suggested that some facial hair on females is becoming more acceptable/stylish.

[mathiverse]

Note the box-shaped object (which was trivial to find)

Amen.

[theanimal]

I listened to this interview with Pavel Tsatsouline when it first came out and it reinvigorated my "grease the groove" practice. 2-3 times a week I have been doing 3 snatches per side and 3 goblet squats with a 45 lb kettlebell, every 10 minutes for ~4-5 hours. I am pleased with the effort and results so far and would like to come up with a variation. Maybe something like weighted pull ups and another type of squat or lunges.

Pavel also mentions that someone he trains with likes to run a mile with a kettlebell that's 1/3 of his bodyweight. I was intrigued and couldn't resist the allure of a unique fitness challenge so I gave it a go. I weigh roughly 170 lbs and used a 60 lb kettlebell. I finished the mile in 13:22. I thought my hands wouldn't be able to deal with holding one the whole time but they didn't cause me any issues until the last 1/4 mile. My forearms were the biggest limiting factor, similar to the 500 swings challenge. That said, I was able to complete the mile while holding the kettlebell the entire time. It was kind of awkward shuffling along with me leaning off to one side to counterbalance the kettlebell. I plan on doing this again.

[2Birds1Stone]

You will be less likely to suffer an injury by running with 1 30lb kettlebell in each hand.....but maybe the challenge is to test the lateral strength of your spine too!

[theanimal]

The one kettlebell is a feature, not a bug. Part of the reason the original guy (Mike Provost) developed the test is to improve hip stability and run gait with those he was working with in the military. It was/is used to test both aerobic and strength capacity and will be easier for those who train both, rather than just strength, or just cardio. Of course, anyone interested in trying it should use whatever weight is appropriate for them. For their tests/training, they would use 16 kg kbs for women and 24 kg for men.

Here is the original article: https://www.strongfirst.com/the-kettlebell-mile/

[2Birds1Stone]

Thank you for clarifying/sharing! That's pretty darn badass. How often did you end up having to switch sides?

[AxelHeyst]

ha!

I now have access to a legit 20lb weight vest, so I did a weighted Murph attempt today for the first time to establish baseline. I got 7 Cindy's (35 pullups, 70 pushups, 105 squats) and the two miles (in 33min, which doesn't mean anything because only 7/20 rounds). I do need to rig up a legit pullup bar - I used the back of the loft ladder, a shoulder-width 2x4, and pullups were definitely what I failed on first.

I'm switching my weekly routine from 3strength/2metcon to 3'metcon' (1-2hrs fatbike riding)/2strength per week. For the time being I intend for one of my strength wo's per week to be a Murph, next goal to get a full weighted murph in <60min.

[Stasher]

At 31 pages the Fitness Log Thread is probably a bit deviated away from what originally was to what it currently is all about. So I'll just share what I'm currently up to with my time each week right now. The last couple years I was racing gravel bikes in long distance endurance events that were typically 100km long and around 1700-2500m elevation gain. They were awesome and what I liked about them was challenging myself even though you were racing against other individuals. Fast forward to last fall after a very active summer of backpacking and fastpacking in the alpine, my legs and endurance were at a high point. This got me stoked on trail running again and I signed up for 3 trail races and had a blast.

Building off the end of 2024 I decided to go all in for this year, I connected with a good friend who is a coach and adventure racers to help build out a program for me. I'm signed up and will be racing our west coast trail running series as well as an infamously cruel mountain summit half marathon and then an alpine 50k ultra. Why not go all in, with FI that gives me time to train and focus on being outdoors and having fun which I love.

So basically a week is 6 days of activity that can be called training but is actually a blast. This involves trail running which is sometimes mixed in with hills or intervals and then also lots of cycling including mountain biking for cross training. I then do bodyweight and kettlebell workouts 1-2x per week. As the races that start the season are just 11-14km (first race is 2 weeks away) I am currently only running 30-50km per week right now, with one of those runs usually around 15km long. As we get closer to June for the half marathon & July 50k my weekly long runs will get increasing longer to build that endurance base.

Everything is about building a bad ass zone 2 endurance base and working on getting the speed increased and heart rate lowered. I am stoked on the progress and always surprise myself how much faster I am now and how low a heart rate I can sustain because of the Z2 work. The science just works, I don't get crazy into it but watch all the youtube videos on the subject and know that to go fast and long you need to go slow. I'm currently 51 and am in the best fitness of my life which blows my mind. This past weekend I did a mountain summit run and beat my descent times down the trail from 2016 and 2019 which made my day!

Outside of my running and riding which I absolutely love, I walk or ride everywhere for as much as I can, leaving the car at home is better for the environment and the budget. Right now according to the Apple workout app (I wear an Apple Ultra2 Watch & never take it off) I am averaging 11km per day walking/running combined.

[delay]

I'm signed up and will be racing our west coast trail running series as well as an infamously cruel mountain summit half marathon and then an alpine 50k ultra.

Sharing my experience, an Alpine 50km ultra is not overly hard. There were plenty of 60+ participants and almost everyone walked the steep parts. I could choose my own difficulty by adjusting my speed.

I force myself to drink at every post even if I don't want to. Eating feels optional on a 50km.

One thing I learned is to be cautious about overtraining. One can do a 50k ultra without training more than 15km at a time. Shorter runs come with lighter, faster healing injuries. Longer runs come with more serious injuries which can require a long time to heal. My body suppresses small pains when I run, so if pain still gets through, I take it seriously.

Of course, there are also people who run 10 marathons a year, so there's a lot of different body types

[Stasher]

Yup, aware of all of this, and to say a 50k ultra is not hard isn't totally true, yes for those of us who are active every single day, but I think the stat is that only 1% of the population can even competently even run a 10k on flat ground. I've done loads of endurance events and its about pacing yourself and fuelling, 100% with you. I've done 40k days in the mountain with a full backpack, I'm no stranger to endurance.

Here is the 24km mountain challenge I am doing one month before the 50k
https://www.coastlineendurancerunning.com/kusam-klimb/

[Lemur]

I have only been doing elliptical for months now due to back injury I have since recovered from. Went out this morning and decided to give what I had for a half marathon on the road.

I only made it 9.5 miles before my left calf basically died after an hour and 50 minutes. This was fun and euphoric though. I haven’t had that sort of runners high in a while

My cardio held up no problem. I wasn’t even breathing hard at all. Just need to build up my road legs again.

[theanimal]

@AxelHeyst and I began a new practice. Each Friday afternoon, we get together and do some type of hard workout. This Friday will be our 4th rendtion. Per tradition, we plan on doing a weighted Murph for Memorial Day weekend, but otherwise we decide each workout the week or day of. So far we have done the following:

Week 1: For time. The Devil's Mile (400 m walking lunges, 30 pushups, 400 m broad jumps, 30 air squats, 400 m overhead carry with 35 lbs, 30 burpees, 400 m bear crawl)

Week 2: For time: 52 card workout with plyo jumps, burpees, push ups, and clean and press (35 lb kettlebell) as the exercises for each suit. Jokers were 1 minute plank.

Week 3: For time: 100 swings then 20 rounds of 10 push ups and 10 goblet squats (35 lb kettlebell) then 100 swings

We have unintentionally been very leg heavy. Mrs. Animal says we should call ourselves the Quad Squad.

If anyone has ideas for possible workouts, suggestions are welcome!

[AxelHeyst]

TGI Sufferfest is a major highlight of my week. I have to modify here and there (lower weight KB swing, 1/2x the clean n press reps) to stay in ballpark finishing time as @theanimal/not injure myself .

[theanimal]

Week 4: We did five 4 minute rounds broken up into 2 components.Each round was followed by a 1 min rest. Part 1 was 20/10 tabata intervals for 2 min on the airdyne. Whoever wasn't on the airdyne did AMRAP 30 sec for each exercise of the following:
Rd 1: Clean and Press/Pushups
Rd 2: Kettlebell russian twists/low plank to high plank get ups
Rd 3: Pull Ups/Kettlebell renegade rows
Rd 4 Windmills/Hollow hold (aka banana)
Rd 5 AMRAP 5 snatches, 10 air squats, 5 clap push ups.

Week 5: Modified unweighted murph for time. Abbrevited run (with baby animal). 20 Cindys, then abbreviated run.

Week 6: (yesterday): We carried large birch logs ~1 mile, with intermittent squats and overhead carries. @AH said that if either of us suggested a harder option we had to do it. That ended up being extra squats and a pair of ripped shorts for me. We finished off with a 3 mile road run.


For this upcoming Friday, we will be doing a weighted Murph in honor of Memorial day*.

I found a Concept 2 rower for $50 recently so we have a new tool to add to our arsenal for future weeks. So far we are not short of workout ideas and Friday afternoon remains the highlight of my week.

*And to put Zuck in his place.

[AxelHeyst]

Just finished annual memorial day Murph with @theanimal. My first fully weight-vested attempt. I went in figuring I probably wouldn't finish. I took the vest off after Cindy 7, did in fact do all the rest of the Cindys bodyweight, put the vest back on for final mile, for a total time of 43:41. This is definitely a PR! From last year my best time for no vest at all was 41:39. One year ago I attempted my very first Murph with no weight and only got 12 Cindys before calling it. Goal for next year is to get the whole thing done with the vest.

It helped to be working out with theanimal who, spoiler alert, PR'd.